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ROCK-CUT   ELEl'IIANT   AHOVE   THE    ASOKA    INSCRIPTION    AT    DllAULI,    ORISSA 


THE  EARLY 
HISTORY  OF  INDIA 

FROM  600  B.C.   TO   THE 
MUHAMMAD  AN  CONQUEST 

INCLUDING    THE    INVASION 
OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT 

BY 

VINCENT  A.  SMITH 

M.A.  (dUBL.  ET  OXON.)  ;  F.R.A.S.,  F.H.N.S.,  LATE  OF  THE  INDIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE  ; 

AUTHOR  OF  *ASOKA,  THE  BUDDHIST  EMPEROR  OF  INDIA,' 

'a  HISTORY  OF  FINE  ART  IN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON,'  ETC. 

THIRD  EDITION,  REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 


OXFOKD 

AT  THE  CLARENDON  PRESS 

1914 


OXFORD   UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

LONDON       EDINBURGH       GLASGOW       NEW    YORK 
TORONTO       MELBOURNE       BOMBAY 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD  M.A. 

PUBUSHER   TO  THE    UNIVERSITY 


EXTRACT  FROM  PREFACE  TO 
FIRST  EDITION 

The  plan  and  limitations  of  this  book  have  been 
explained  so  fully  in  the  Introduction  that  little 
more  need  be  said  by  way  of  preface.  The  room 
for  difference  of  opinion  on  many  of  the  subjects 
treated  is  so  great  that  I  cannot  expect  my  views 
on  controverted  points  to  meet  with  universal 
acceptance  ;  and  the  complexity  of  my  undertaking 
forbids  me  to  hope  that  positive  errors,  justly  open 
to  censure,  have  been  avoided  altogether ;  but 
I  trust  that  critics  will  be  prepared  to  concede  the 
amount  of  indulgence  which  may  be  granted  legi- 
timately to  the  work  of  a  pioneer. 

The  devotion  of  a  disproportionately  large  space 
to  tjie  memorable  invasion  of  Alexander  the  Great 
is^due  to  the  exceptional  interest  of  the  subject, 
which,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  not  been  treated 
adequately  in  any  modern  book. 

The  presentation  of  cumbrous  and  unfamiliar 
Oriental  names  must  always  be  a  difficulty  for  a 
writer  on  Indian  history.  I  have  endeavoured  to 
secure  reasonable  uniformity  of  spelling  without 
pedantry.  The  system  of  transliteration  followed 
in  the  notes  and  appendices  is  substantially  that 
used  in  the  Indian  Antiquary ;  while  in  the  text 
long  vowels  only  are  marked  where  necessary,  and 
all  other  diacritical  signs  are  discarded. 

Vowels  have  values  as  in  Italian ;    except  the 


iv  PREFACE 

short  a,  which  is  pronounced  hke  //  in  hut,  when 
with  stress,  and  Hke  A  in  Amaica,  when  without 
stress.  The  consonants  are  to  be  pronounced  as 
in  EngHsh  ;  and  cli,  consequently,  is  represented  in 
French  by  tch,  and  in  German  by  tsch ;  similarly, 
j  is  equivalent  to  the  French  dj  and  the  German 
(Jsch.  The  international  symbol  c  for  the  English 
cli,  as  in  churcJi,  which  has  been  adopted  by  the 
Asiatic  Societies,  may  have  some  advantages  in 
pinely  technical  publications ;  but  its  use  results 
in  such  monstra  horrcnda  as  Cac  for  Chach,  and  is 
unsuitable  in  a  work  intended  primarily  for  English 
and  Indian  readers. 


» 


PREFACE  TO  THIRD  EDITI0:N 

This  edition  presents  a  view  of  the  early  history 
of  India  as  it  appears  to  me  after  nearly  forty  years 
study.  It  is  as  accurate  and  up-to-date  as  I  can 
make  it,  but  does  not  pretend  to  be  final,  because 
finality  in  a  work  dealing  with  a  subject  so  pro- 
gressive is  unattainable.  The  mass  of  new  matter 
and  fresh  discussion  accumulated  since  the  publica- 
tion of  the  last  edition,  a  little  more  than  five  years 
ago,  is  so  great  that  difficulty  has  been  experienced 
in  maintaining  the  decision  to  confine  the  book 
within  the  limits  of  a  single  volume  of  reasonable 
size  and  moderate  price.  It  would  be  much  easier 
to  expand  it  to  double  the  length.  Notwithstand- 
ing constant  effort  to  avoid  prolixity  and  wearisome 
details,  material  enlargement,  compensated  in  some 
measure  by  certain  omissions,  has  proved  inevitable. 

Readers  are  invited  to  remember  that  the  book 
was  designed  to  be,  and  still  is,  primarily  a  political 
history.  It  is  not  intended  to  be  an  encyclopaedia 
of  Indian  antiquities,  as  some  critics  seem  to  think 
that  it  ought  to  be.  The  History  of  Fine  Art  in 
India  and  Ceylon  (1911),  planned  as  a  companion 
volume  in  order  to  give  the  history  of  Indian 
artistic  utterance  so  far  as  it  can  be  recovered, 
renders  unnecessary  any  detailed  account  of  the 
subject  in  this  work.  Special  treatises  on  the  his- 
tory of  literature,  science,  philosophy,  religion,  and 
institutions,  so  far  as  they  exist,  must  be  consulted 


vi  PREFACE 

by  students  desirous  of  full  information  on  those 
subjects,  which  cannot  chiim  more  than  slight 
notice  in  this  work. 

Although  emendations  in  both  form  and  sub- 
stance ha^'e  been  made  in  every  chapter,  the  general 
arrangement  remains  unaltered.  The  following 
indications  of  the  extent  to  which  the  present 
edition  differs  from  the  second  may  be  useful  to 
readers  : — 

Chapter  I.  References  have  been  brought  up  to 
date,  and  Appendix  A,  '  The  Age  of  the  Puranas,' 
has  been  revised  in  the  light  of  Mr.  F.  E.  l*argiter's 
book,  The  Dynasties  of  the  Kali  Age  (Oxford 
University  Press,  1913). 

Chapter  II.  The  same  book  and  other  publica- 
tions have  rendered  possible  material  improvements 
in  the  second  chapter,  but  the  treatment  of  the 
subject-matter  necessarily  continues  to  be  specula- 
tive to  a  large  extent. 

Chapters  III,  YV.  New  information  concerning 
Alexander's  campaigns  is  so  scanty  that  the  changes 
in  these  chapters  are  few  and  small.  The  Appendix, 
'  Aornos  and  Embolima '  (F  of  second  edition) 
has  been  omitted  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of 
all  attempts  to  identify  the  places  named. 

Chapter  Y,  In  the  second  edition  the  brief 
notice  of  the  contents  of  the  Kautilhja-  or  Artha- 
sCistra  excited  so  much  interest,  especially  in  Ger- 
many, that  much  additional  space  has  now  been 
given  to  the  description  of  Indian  political  insti- 
tutions in  the  age  of  Alexander  the  Great,  as 
revealed  by  tliat  treatise.  Appendix  G,  '  The 
Arthdsa.strd  or  KaNtilli/a-sdsfra,'  is  new. 


PREFACE  vii 

Chapters  VI,  VII.  Substantial  changes  conse- 
quent on  recent  discoveries  and  researches  have 
been  made,  and  the  bibliography  of  the  Asoka 
inscriptions  has  been  revised. 

Chapter  VIII.  The  account  of  the  Andhras  and 
connected  dynasties  has  been  largely  rewritten. 
Appendix  J  is  new. 

Chapter  IX.  The  obscure  and  difficult  subject 
of  the  Indo-Greek  and  Indo-Parthian  dynasties 
has  been  reconsidered.  Appendix  M,  *  The  Chris- 
tians of  St.  Thomas,'  is  new. 

Chapter  X.  The  contentious  questions  connected 
with  the  Kushan  dynasty  have  been  treated  afresh. 
The  Appendix  entitled  '  The  so-called  Chinese 
Hostages  of  Kanishka '  (L  in  second  edition), 
although  perfectly  sound,  has  been  omitted  in 
order  to   save  space. 

Chapters  XI,  XII.  A  survey  of  the  intellectual 
achievements  of  the  Gupta  period  has  been  in- 
serted, and  corrections  in  certain  details  have  been 
made.  Appendix  N,  '  Vasubandhu  and  the  Gup- 
tas,' is  new. 

Chapter  XIII.  Sundry  matters  in  the  history 
of  Harsha,  including  the  date  of  his  death,  have 
been  corrected. 

Chapter  XIV.  The  complicated  history  of  the 
Kingdoms  of  the  North  has  been  extensively  re- 
vised, especially  in  the  sections  dealing  with  Kanauj 
and  Bengal.  Appendix  O,  '  The  Origin  and  Chro- 
nology of  the  Sena  Dynasty,'  is  new. 

Chapter  XV.  The  emendations  in  the  story  of 
the  Kingdoms  of  the  Deccan  are  of  a  minor 
character. 


viii  PREFACE 

Chapter  XVI.  The  abundance  of  new  data  for 
the  reconstruction  of  the  history  of  the  Kingdoms 
of  the  South  has  necessitated  numerous  and  im- 
portant alterations. 

It  may  be  well  to  observe  that  the  Appendices 
are  intended  for  the  satisfaction  of  advanced  scholars 
desirous  of  verifying-  the  statements  in  tlie  text  on 
difficult  or  disputed  subjects,  and  that  they  may 
be  neglected  by  the  general  reader  or  junior 
student. 

Three  new  plates  have  been  inserted,  and  the 
Index  has  been  recast. 

The  kind  attention  of  readers  is  invited  to  the 
list  of  Additions  and  Corrections. 

V.  A.  S. 

March  31,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.   1 .  Introduction       .......  1 

2.  The  Sources  of  Indian  History         ...  9 

Appendix  A.     The  Age  of  the  Puranas          .  21 

Appendix  B.     The  Cihnese  Pilgrims         ,         .  23 

II.  The  Dynasties  before  Alexander,  600  to  326  b.c.  .       27 
Appendix  C.    Chronology  of  the  Saisunaga  and 
Nanda  Dynasties  .....       44 

III.  Alexander's  Indian  Campaign  :   the  Advance  .       49 

Appendix  D.  Alexander's  Camp  :  the  Passage 
OF  THE  Hydaspes  ;  and  the  Site  of  the 
Battle  with  Poros      .         .         .         .         .78 

Appendix  E.  The  Date  of  the  Battle  of  the 
Hydaspes       .......       85 

IV.  Alexander's  Indian  Campaign  :  the  Retreat  .       88 

Chronology  of  the  Indian  Campaign  of  Alex- 
ander THE  Great         .         .         .         .         .113 

V.  Chandragupta    Maurya   and  Bindusara,  from   221 

to  272  B.C. 115 

Appendix  F.     The  Extent  of  the  Cession  of 
Ariana  by  Seleukos  Nikator  to  Chandra- 
gupta Maurya      .         .         .         .         .         .149 

Appendix  G.  The  ArthaSastra  or  Kautiliya- 
Sastra .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .151 

VI.  AsoKA  Maurya 154 

Appendix    H.      The    Inscriptions    of    Asoka  ; 

Bibliographical  Note  .  .  .  .  .172 

VII.  Asoka  Maurya  (continued);  and  his  Successors     .     175 
The  Maurya  Dynasty:  Chronological  Table  .     196 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAP.  _  PAGE 

VIII.  The  Sunga,  Kanva,  and  Andhra  Dynasties,  from 

185  B.C.  TO  c.  A.D.  225 198 

Appendix  I.     The  Invasion  of  Menander,  and 

THE  Date  of  Patanjali        .         .         .         .213 
Appendix   J.     The    Andhras    and    Connected 

Dynasties     .         .         .         .         .         .         ,215 

IX.  The    Indo-Greek    and    Indo-Parthian    Dynasties, 

from  about  250  B.C.  to  A.D.  60  .  .  .  .219 

Appendix  K.     Alphabetical   List  of  Bactrian 

AND  Indo-Greek  Kings  and  Queens     .         .     242 
Appendix  L.     Synchronistic  Table  from  about 

280  B.C.  to  about  a. d.  60     .  .         .  .     244 

Appendix  M.     The  Christians  of  St.  Thomas    .     245 

X.  The    Kushan    or    Indo-Scythian    Dynasty,    from 

about  A.D.  20  TO  A.D.  225    .....     248 
Approximate  Kushan  Chronology    .         .         .     277 

XI.  The  Gupta  Empire,  and  the  Western  Satraps  ; 
Chandra-gupta  I  to  Kumaragupta  I,  from 
A.D.  320  TO  A.D.  455 279 

XII.  The  Gupta  Empire  (continued)  ;   and  the  White 

Huns,  from  a.d.  455  to  6o6       ....  301 

Chronology  of  the  Gupta   Period  .  .  .  327 

Appendix  N.     Vasubandhu  and  the  Guptas     .  328 

XIII.  The  Reign  of  Harsha,  from  a.d.  6o6  to  647        .     335 

Chronology  of  the  Seventh  Century     .         .     359 

XIV.  The    Mediaeval    Kingdoms    of   the    North,    from 

A.D.  647  to   1200 360 

Appendix  0.     The  Origin  and  Chronology  of 
the  Sena  Dynasty       .         .         .         .         .415 

XV.  The  Kingdoms  of  the  Deccan        ....     423 
Appendix  P.     The  Principal  Dynasties  of  the 

Deccan  .......     436 

XVI.  The  Kingdoms  of  the  South  ....     438 

Epilogue.         .......     477 

INDEX 479 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Rock-cut   Elephant   above  the  Asoka  Inscription  at 

Dhauli,  Orissa Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Indian  Coins To  face  xii 


PiPRAWA  Inscribed  Vase  containing  Relics  of  Buddha 
Indian  Coins  and  Medals  (2)       . 
Alexander  the  Great  :  the  Tivoli  Herm   . 
The  Birth-place  of  Buddha         .... 
Inscribed  Life-size  Statue  of  Kanishka^  from  Mat  in 

Mathura  District  ..... 

Inscribed  Buddhist  Pedestal  from  Hashtnagar 
The  Martanda  Temple  of  the  Sun,  Kashmir 
The  Rock-cut  Kailasa  Temple  at  Elura    . 
The  Great  Temple  at  Tanjore  .... 
The  Ganesa  Ratha  at  Mamallapuram 


16 

72 

110 

168 

260 
266 

372 
428 
465 

472 


MAPS   AND    PLANS 

1.  The  Battlefield  of  the  Hydaspes  .         ,  p^tg^  67 

2.  Plan  of  the  Battle  of  the  Hydaspes    .         .     To  face  82 

3.  Position  of  the  Autonomous  Tribes   conquered    by 

Alexander         .......  94 

4.  The  Empire  of  Asoka,  250  b.  c.      .         .         .         .  l62 

5.  The  Conquests  of  Samudragupta,  a.  d.  340 ;  and  the 

Gupta  Empire,  a.  d.  400  (Travels  of  Fa-hien)  .         284 

6.  India  in  a.  d.  640  ;  the  Empire  of  Harsha  (Travels 

of  Hiuen  Tsang)        ......         340 


The  later  Andhra  Kings  and  connected  Dynasties 


218 


CONTENTS  OF   PLATE  OF   INDIAN  COINS  (1) 
IN   THE   BRITISH   MUSEUM 


Kina. 


Sophvtes. 


Eukiatiiles. 


Menander. 


IleiTHaios. 


Kadpliises  I. 


Gondopliares. 


Sivalakuia  of 
And  lira 
dynasty. 


iyn 
wipl 


Ka<Ipliises  I  f. 


Kanishka. 


Saniudi-agiipt:!, 


•Samudi-agupta. 


Chandra -gupta 
II,  Vikrania- 
ditya. 

Kirttivarman 
Chandella. 

A  Pandya  king. 

Rajaraju  Clioja. 

A  Pallava  cliief. 
A  Cliera  king. 


Head  of  the  king  r.,  in  close- 
titting  lielmet,  bound  with 
wreatli ;  wing  on  cheek-piece. 

Bust  of  the  king  r.,  dia- 
demed, and  wearing  lielniet 
{kav.siu),  adorne*!  witli  ear  and 
horn  of  bull,  and  crest. 


BAZIAEHZ 

ZnTHPoz 

MENANAPOY. 

Bust  of  tlie  king  r.,  diademed. 

BAZIAEHZ 
ZnTHPoI 
EPMAIoY. 

Bust  of  the  kinirr.,  diademed. 

XoPANCY  ZAooY 

KoZoAA 

KAAAcDEC. 

Head  of  the  king  r.,  diademed, 
and  closely  resembling  that  of 
Augustus. 

Greek  legend  iTni)erfect. 

BACIAEON  .... 
YNAO(J)EP  .  .  . 

Bust  of  the  king  r.,  diademed. 
Ratio  Mddliarlpiitnfa  Sint/n- 
kurasa.     Strung    b(jw,    «ith 
arrow  fixed. 

BACIAEYC 

ooHMo 
KAA(t)|CHC. 

Bust  of  king  emerging  from 
clouds ;  helmet  and  diadem  ; 
Greek  chlamys;  club?  in  r. 
hand. 

Standing  king  in  Turki  cos- 
tume, with  si)ear  and  sword. 
Legend  in  moditied  Greek 
characters. 

PAoNANoPAo 
KANHPKI 
KoPANo 

(?  P  to  be  read  si,). 

King  seated,  playing  lyre. 
Legend,  mahdrajddhiriljd  irl 
Samudraguptah ;  on  footstool, 
si. 

Hoi-se,  standing  before  altar 
and  saciificial  post.  I^egend 
imi)erfect ;  between  hoi'se's 
legs,  si. 

King  .shooting  lion.  Legend, 
iiuihardjadliiraja  irJ. 

Legend,  srtmat  Klrltiranii' 
riia-dtia. 

Two   fishes   under  an   um- 
brella, with  other  symbols. 
Standing  king. 

Lion  r. 

Seated  figure,  cornipted. 


Kci-ersc. 


Zn<t)YToY 

Cock  r. ;  above,  cadu- 
ceus. 

BAZIAEHZ 

METAAoY 

EYKPATIAoY. 

The  Uioskouroi  charging 
r.,  holding  long  lances 
and  palms. 

Not  figured. 


Not  figured. 


Not  figure!. 


Not  figured. 


Not  figured. 


KharoshthI  inscrip- 
tion, lanliarajasa,  &c. 
.Siva  and  Indian  bull. 


APAoXPo 

Female  deity  with 
n\icopiae. 


Not  figured. 


Not  figured. 


Goddess  seated  on  lion. 
Legend,  &ri  Situha  Vi- 
kraiiiiili. 

Koiir-armed  goddess, 
seated. 

Legend  unceiiain. 

Seate<l  figure.  Legend, 
RdjdrHjii. 
Vase  on  stand. 
Bow  and  umbrella. 


Reia-encc. 


Gardner,  Catal.of  Greek 
and  Scylkic  Kings  of 
Bactria  and  India,  PI. 
r,  3. 

ibid.,  PI.  V,  7. 


ibid.,  PI.  -XI, 


ibid.,  PI.  XV,  4. 


ibid.,  PI.  X.XV,  -.. 


ibid.,  PI.  XXII,  11. 


Cunningham,  Coins  of 
Ancient  India,  p.  109. 

Gardner,   op.  cit.,  PI. 
XXV,  7. 


Gardner,  op.  cit.,  PI. 
XXVI,  6. 


J.I{.A.S.,lSS9,P\.l,i 


ibid.,  4. 


ibid.,  PI.  II,  0. 


Cunningham,  Coins  of 
Mediaeval  India,  PI. 
VIII,  12. 

Elliot,  Coins  of  South- 
ern India,  PL  111,120. 

ibid.,  PI.  IV,  ICf). 

ibid.  PI.  II,  40. 
ibid.,  PI.  III.  128. 


'Jndian  (oin^ 


CHAPTER   I 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

The  illustrious  Elphinstone,  writing  in  1839,  observed  that  Elphin- 
in  Indian  history  "^  no  date  of  a  public  event  can  be   fixed  Cowell  on 

before  the  invasion  of  Alexander:  and  no  connected  relation '^he  Hindu 

penod. 
of  the  national  transactions  can  be  attempted  until  after  the 

Mahometan  conquest '.     Professor  Cowell,  when  commenting 

upon  this  dictum,  twenty-seven  years  later,  begged  his  readers 

to  bear  it  in  mind  during  the  whole  of  the  Hindu  period  ; 

assigning  as  his  reason  for  this  caution  the  fact  that  ^it  is 

only  at  those  points  where  other  nations  came  into  contact 

with  the  Hindus,   that  we  are  able   to   settle   any   details 

accurately.'  ^ 

Although  the  first  clause  of  Elphinstone's  proposition,  if 
strictly  interpreted,  still  remains  true — no  date  in  Indian 
history  prior  to  Alexander's  invasion  being  determinable  with 
absolute  precision — modern  research  has  much  weakened  the 
force  of  the  observation,  and  has  enabled  scholars  to  fix 
a  considerable  number  of  dates  in  the  pre- Alexandrine 
history  of  India  with  approximate  accuracy,  sufficient  for 
most  purposes. 

But  when  the  statement  that  a  connected  narrative  of  Results  of 
events  prior  to  the  Muhammadan  conquest  cannot  be  pre-  ^search 
pared  is  examined  in  the  light  of  present  knowledge,  the 
immense  progress  in  the  recovery  of  the  lost  history  of  India 
made  during  the  last  sev'enty  years  becomes  apparent.  The 
researches  of  a  multitude  of  scholars  Avorking  in  \arious 
fields  have  disclosed  an  unexpected  wealth  of  materials  for 
the  reconstruction  of  ancient  Indian  history ;  and  the  neces- 
sary preliminary  studies  of  a  technical  kind  have  been  carried 
so  far  that  the  accumulated  and  ever-growing  stores  of  know- 
ledge can  be  sorted  and  arranged  with  advantage.  It  now 
appears  to  be  practicable  to  exhibit  the  results  of  antiquarian 

1  Elphinstone,  History  of  India,  ed.  Cowell,  5th  ed.,  p.  11. 

1626  B 


2 


INTRODUCTION 


Political 
history. 


East  and 
West. 


studies  in  the  sliape  of  a  '  connected  relation ' ;  not  less  in- 
telliiiible  to  the  ordinarj-  educated  reader  than  Elphinstone's 
narrative  of  the  transa(!tions  of  the  Muhammadan  period. 

The  first  attempt  to  present  such  a  narrative  of  the  leading 
events  in  Indian  political  histor)'  for  eighteen  centuries  was 
made  in  the  first  edition  of  this  book,  which,  even  in  its  now 
much  expanded  form,  is  still  designedly  confined  for  the  most 
part  to  the  relation  of  political  vicissitudes,  A  sound  frame- 
work of  dynastic  annals  must  be  provided  before  the  story  of 
Indian  religion,  literature,  and  art  can  be  told  aright.  Al- 
though religious,  literary,  and  artistic  problems  are  touched 
on  very  lightly  in  this  volume,  the  references  made  will 
suffice,  perhaps,  to  convince  the  reader  that  the  key  is  often 
to  be  found  in  the  accurate  chronological  presentation  of 
dynastic  facts. 

European  students,  whose  attention  has  been  mainly 
directed  to  the  Graeco-Roman  foundation  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion, may  be  disposed  to  agree  with  the  German  philosopher 
in  the  belief  that  ^Chinese,  Indian,  and  Egyptian  antiquities 
are  never  more  than  curiosities ' ;  ^  but,  however  well  founded 
that  opinion  may  have  been  in  Goethe's  day,  it  can  no  longer 
command  assent.  The  researches  of  orientalists  during  the 
last  hundred  years  have  established  many  points  of  contact 
between  the  ancient  East  and  the  modern  West ;  and  no 
Hellenist  can  now  afford  to  profess  complete  ignorance  of 
the  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  culture  which  forms  the  bed- 
rock of  European  institutions.  Even  China  has  been  brought 
into  touch  with  Europe  ;  while  the  languages,  literature,  art, 
and  philosophy  of  the  West  have  been  proved  to  be  connected 
by  innumerable  bonds  witli  those  of  India.  Although  the 
names  of  even  tlie  greatest  monarchs  of  ancient  India  are  at 
present  unfamiliar  to  the  general  reader,  and  awaken  few 
echoes  in  the  minds  of  any  save  specialists,  it  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  hope  that  an  orderly  presentation  of  the 
ascertained  facts  of  ancient  Indian  history  may  be  of  interest 
to  a  larger  circle  than  that  of  professed  orientalists,  and  that, 

^  Tlie  Maxims  and  Reflectiom  of  Goethe,  No.  325,  in  Bailey  Saunders's 
translation. 


ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  3 

as  the  subject  becomes  more  familiar  to  the  reading  public, 
it  will  be  found  no  less  worthy  of  attention  than  better  known 
departments  of  historical  study.  A  recent  Indian  author 
justly  observes  that  ^  India  suffers  to-day  in  the  estimation  of 
the  world  more  through  that  world's  ignorance  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  heroes  of  Indian  history  than  through  the 
absence  or  insignificance  of  such  achievements '.  ^  The 
following  pages  may  serve  to  prove  that  the  men  of  old  time 
in  India  did  deeds  worthy  of  remembrance,  and  deserving  of 
rescue  from  the  oblivion  in  which  they  have  been  buried  for 
so  many  centuries. 

The  section  of  this  work  which  deals  with  the  invasion  of  Alexander 
Alexander  the  Great  may  claim  to  make  a  special  appeal  to  ^  ^^^  ' 
the  interest  of  readers  trained  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
classical  studies ;  and  the  subject  has  been  treated  ac- 
cordingly with  much  fullness  of  detail.  The  existing  English 
accounts  of  Alexander's  marvellous  campaign,  among  which 
that  of  Thirlwall,  perhaps,  is  entitled  to  the  highest  place, 
treat  the  story  as  an  appendix  to  the  history  of  Greece  rather 
than  as  part  of  that  of  India,  and  fail  to  make  full  use  of 
the  results  of  the  labours  of  modern  geographers  and 
archaeologists.  In  this  volume  the  campaign  is  discussed 
as  a  memorable  episode  in  the  history  of  India,  and  an 
endeavour  has  been  made  to  collect  all  the  rays  of  light  from 
recent  investigation  and  to  focus  them  upon  the  narratives 
of  ancient  authors. 

The  author's  aim  is  to  present  the  story  of  ancient  India,  The 
so  far  as  practicable,  in  the  form  of  a  connected  narrative, 
based  upon  the  most  authentic  evidence  available ;  to  relate 
facts,  however  established,  with  impartiality:  and  to  discuss 
the  problems  of  history  in  a  judicial  spirit.  He  has  striven 
to  realize,  however  imperfectly,  the  ideal  expressed  in  the 
words  of  Goethe  : — 

*The  historian's  duty  is  to  separate  the  true  from  the 
false,  the  certain  from  the  uncertain,  and  the  doubtful  from 
that  which  cannot  be  accepted.  .  .  .  Every  investigator  must 
before  all  things  look  upon  himself  as  one  who  is  summoned 

^  C.  N.  K.  Aiyar,  Sri  Sancharncharya,  his  Life  and  Times,  p.  iv. 

B  2 


author's 
aim. 


4  INTRODUCTION 

to  serve  on  a  jury.  He  has  only  to  consider  how  far  the 
statement  of  the  case  is  complete  and  clearly  set  forth  by 
the  evidence.  Then  he  draws  his  conclusion  and  gives  his 
vote,  whether  it  be  that  his  opinion  coincides  with  that  of 
the  foreman  or  not.  ^  ^ 

The  application  of  these  principles  necessarily  involves  the 
M'holesale  rejection  of  mere  legend  as  distinguished  from 
tradition,  and  the  omission  of  many  picturesque  anecdotes, 
mostly  folk-lore,  which  have  clustered  round  the  names  of 
the  mighty  men  of  old  in  India. 
Value  of  The  historian  of  the  remote  past  of  any  nation  must  be 
tradition.  (.Qntent  to  rely  much  upon  tradition  as  embodied  in  litera- 
ture, and  to  acknowledge  that  the  results  of  his  researches, 
when  based  upon  traditionary  materials,  are  inferior  in 
certainty  to  those  obtainable  for  periods  of  which  the  facts 
are  attested  by  contemporary  evidence.  In  India,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  contemporary  evidence  of  any  kind  is  not 
available  before  the  time  of  Alexander ;  but  critical  examina- 
tion of  records  dated  much  later  tlian  the  events  referred  t© 
can  extract  from  them  testimony  which  may  be  regarded  with 
a  high  degree  of  probability  as  traditionally  transmitted  from 
the  sixth  or,  perhaps,  the  seventh  century  b.c. 
Necessity  Even  contemporary  evidence,  when  it  is  available  for  later 
for  cTiti-  pei-iods,  cannot  be  accepted  without  criticism.  The  flattery 
of  courtiers,  the  vanity  of  kings,  and  many  other  clouds  which 
obscure  the  absolute  truth,  must  be  recognized  and  allowed 
for.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  the  writer  of  a  history,  however 
great  may  be  his  respect  for  the  objective  fact,  to  eliminate 
altogether  his  own  personality.  Every  kind  of  evidence, 
even  the  most  direct,  must  reach  the  reader,  when  presented 
in  narrative  form,  as  a  reflection  from  the  mirror  of  the 
writer's  mind,  with  the  liability  to  unconscious  distortion. 
In  the  following  pages  the  author  has  endeavoured  to  exclude 
the  subjective  element  so  far  as  possible,  to  make  no  state- 
ment of  fact  without  authority,  and  to  give  the  authority, 
that  is  to  say,  the  evidence,  for  every  fact  alleged. 

But  no  obligation  to  follow  authority  in  the  other  sense 
'   The  Maxims  and  lisfleclions  of  Guethe,  Nos.  453,  5i3. 


cisra. 


UNITY  OF  INDIA  fi 

of  the  word  has  been  accepted,  and  the  narrative  often 
assumes  a  form  apparently  justified  by  the  evidence,  although 
opposed  to  the  views  stated  in  well-known  books  by  authors 
of  repute.  Indian  history  has  been  too  much  the  sport  of 
credulity  and  hypothesis,  inadequately  checked  by  critical 
judgement  of  evidence  or  verification  of  fact ;  and  '  the 
opinion  of  the  foreman',  to  use  Goethe's  phrase,  cat)not  be 
implicitly  followed. 

Although  this  work  purports  to  relate  the  Early  History  Unity  of 
of  India,  the  title  must  be  understood  with  certain  limita-  I"*^'^- 
tions.  India,  encircled  as  she  is  by  seas  and  mountains,  is 
indisputably  a  geographical  unit,  and,  as  such,  is  rightly 
designated  by  one  name.  Her  type  of  civilization,  too,  has 
many  features  which  differentiate  it  from  that  of  all  other 
regions  of  the  world,  while  they  are  common  to  the  whole 
country,  or  rather  sub-continent,  in  a  degree  sufficient  to 
justify  its  treatment  as  a  unit  in  the  history  of  the  social, 
religious,  and  intellectual  development  of  mankind. 

But  the  complete  political  unity  of  India  under  the  control 
of  a  paramount  power,  wielding  unquestioned  authority,  is 
a  thing  of  yesterday,  barely  a  century  old.^  The  most 
notable  of  her  rulers  in  the  olden  time  cherished  the 
ambition  of  universal  Indian  dominion,  and  severally  attained 
it  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Not  one  of  them,  however, 
attained  it  completely,  and  this  failure  involves  a  lack  of 
unity  in  political  history  which  renders  the  task  of  the 
historian  difficult. 

The  same  difficulty  besets  the  historian  of  Greece   still 

more  pressingly ;  but,  in  that  case,  with  the  attainment  of 

unity  the  interest  of  the  history  vanishes.     In  the  case  of 

India  the  converse  proposition  holds  good,  and  the  reader's 

interest  varies  directly  with  the  degree  of  unity  attained ; 

the  details  of  Indian   annals   being   insufferably   wearisome 

except  when  generalized  by  the  application  of  a  bond  of 

political  union. 

A  political  history  of  India,  if  it  is  to  be  read,  must  neces-  Predomi- 
nant 
>  It  may  be  dated  from  1818,  at      ratha  wars  of  the  Marquis  of  Hast-  dynasties, 
the  close  of  the  Pindarl  and  Ma-      ings. 


6  INTRODUCTION 

sarily  tell  the  story  of  the  predoiniiiaiit  dynasties,  and  either 
ignore,  or  relegate  to  a  very  subordinate  position,  the  annals 
of  the  minor  states.  Elphinstone  acted  upon  this  principle 
in  his  classic  work,  practically  confining  his  narrative  to  the 
transactions  of  the  Sultans  of  Delhi  and  their  Moghal 
successors.  The  same  principle  has  been  applied  in  this 
book,  attention  being  concentrated  upon  the  dominant 
dynasties  which,  from  time  to  time,  have  aspired  to  or 
attained  paramount  power. 

Twice,  in  tlie  long  series  of  centuries  dealt  with  in  tliis 
history,  the  political  unity  of  all  India  was  nearly  attained  ; 
first,  in  the  third  century  B.C.,  m  hen  Asoka's  empire  extended 
almost  to  the  latitude  of  Madras ;  and  again,  in  the  fourth 
century  after  Christ,  when  Samudragupta  carried  his  vic- 
torious arms  from  the  Ganges  to  the  borders  of  the  Tamil 
country.  Other  princes,  although  their  conquests  were  less 
extensive,  yet  succeeded  in  establishing,  and  for  a  time 
maintaining,  empires  Avhich  might  fairly  claim  to  rank  as 
paramount  powers.  With  the  history  of  such  princes  the 
following  narrative  is  chiefly  concerned,  tiie  affairs  of  the 
minor  states  being  either  slightly  noticed,  or  altogether 
ignored. 
Supre-  '["iiQ  paramount   power  in  early  times,  when  it  existed, 

raacy  of      .  •    i  i      i      i   •  •      ivt        i  t     i  •  i 

the  north,  invariably  had  its  seat  in  JNorthern  India— the  region  oi  the 

Gangetic  plain  lying  to  the  north  of    the   great   barrier  of 

jungle-clad  hills  which  shut  off  the  Deccan  from  Hindustan. 

That  barrier  may  be  defined  conveniently  as  consisting  of 

the  Vindhyan  ranges,  using  that  term  in  a  wide  sense ;  or 

may  be  identified,  still  more  compendiously,  with  the  river 

Narmada,  or  Nerbudda,  which  falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Cambay, 

and  flows  between  the  Yindhyan  and  Satpura  ranges.^ 

Early  '[^[-^q  researches  of  Dr.  Fleet,  Professor  Kielhorn,  and  many 

liistory  '  '  ^ 

^  Mr.  Pargiter  holds  that  a  care-  about   Bhopfil  to  Bihar,  the  more 

ful   examination  of  Ihe   names  of  western   part   of  the   range  along 

rivers  and  mountains  in  Canto  .57  of  with  the  Aravallis  (Aravala)  being 

the  Mi'irk<in(lci)a  J'urdiui  indicates  included  under  the  term  Paripatra 

that    in    ancient    times    the   name  (/. /i.  .7.  N.,  D-Oi,  p.  258).     Modern 

Vindliya  was  confined  to  the  east-  writers  apply  the  term  Vindhya  to 

em  part  of  the  range  to  the  north  the  whole  range  north  of  the  river, 
of  the  Narmada,   extending   from 


EARLY  HISTORY  7 

other  patient  scholars  have  revealed  in  outline  much  of  the  of  the  . 
history  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  Deccan  plateau  lying  hetween 
the  Narmada  on  the  north  and  the  Krishna  and  Tunga- 
bhadra  on  the  south,  from  the  sixth  century  after  Christ.  But 
the  details  are  mainly  of  local  interest  and  can  never  attract 
the  attention  of  the  outer  world  to  the  same  degree  as  can 
the  history  of  the  northern  empires,  constantly  in  touch  with 
that  world. 

The  ancient  kingdoms  of  the  far  south,  although  rich  and  Isolation 
populous,  inhabited  by  Dravidian  nations  not  inferior  in  ^Q^^^^  ^^ 
culture  to  their  Aryan  rivals  in  the  north,  were  ordinarily 
so  secluded  from  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world,  including 
Northern  India,  that  their  affairs  remained  hidden  from  the 
eyes  of  other  nations ;  and,  native  annalists  being  lacking, 
their  history,  previous  to  the  year  900  of  the  Christian  era, 
has  almost  wholly  perished.  Except  on  the  rare  occasions 
when  an  unusually  enterprising  sovereign  of  the  north  either 
penetrated  or  turned  the  forest  barrier,  and  for  a  moment 
lifted  the  veil  of  secrecy  in  which  the  southern  potentates 
lived  enwrapped,  very  little  is  known  concerning  political 
events  in  the  far  south  during  the  long  period  extending  from 
600  B.C.  to  A.D.  900.  To  use  the  words  of  Elphinstone,  no 
'  connected  relation  of  the  national  transactions '  of  Southern 
India  in  remote  times  can  be  written ;  and  an  early  history 
of  India  must,  perforce,  be  concerned  mainly  \\'ith  the  north. 

Although,  after  the  lapse  of  nine  years,  it  is  still  as  true  as  it  The  non- 
was  when  the  first  edition  of  this  book  was  published,  that  an  element. 
exact  chronological  narrative  of  the  purely  political  history  of 
the  Tamil  kingdoms  of  Southern  India  previous  to  a.d.  900 
cannot  be  written  at  present,  and  it  is  probable  that  such  a 
history  cannot  be  written  at  any  time,  I  must  not  be  understood 
to  mean  that  the  early  history  of  the  South  is  either  wholly 
inaccessible  or  devoid  of  interest.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe 
that,  if  we  can  be  content  to  dispense  with  precise  chrono- 
logy, materials  exist  for  the  reconstruction  in  no  small 
measure  of  the  history  of  Dravidian  institutions,  and  that 
a  history  of  that  kind,  when  worked  out  by  scholars  ade- 
quately skilled  in  the  languages,  literatures,  and  customs  of 


8  INTRODUCTION 

the  Dnnidiau  peoples  will  be  of  essential  service  to  the 
historian  of  India  as  a  whole,  and  will  enable  the  student  of 
the  development  of  Indian  civilization  to  see  his  subject  in 
true  perspective. 

Attention  has  been  concentrated  too  long  on  the  North,  on 
Sanskrit  books,  and  on  Indo-Aryan  notions.  It  is  time  that 
due  regard  should  be  paid  to  the  non-Aryan  element. 

This  book  being  deliberately  confined  almost  exclusively 
to  the  summary  presentation  of  the  political  history  of  India, 
I  am  precluded  from  following  out  the  suggested  line  of 
research,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from  (juoting  certain  observa- 
tions of  an  eminent  Indian  scholar,  prematurely  deceased, 
which  seem  to  me  worthy  of  serious  consideration,  and  are 
as  follows : — 

India  ^The  attempt  to  find  the  basic  element  of  Hindu  civiliza- 

Proper  in    ^j^j^  ^ly  a  study  of  Sanskrit  and  the  history  of  Sanskrit  in 
the  bouth.  yj  '  r     t      ■  '  .      \       •        ,  ,  ^  •    "  ^ 

Uppei-  India  is  to  begin  the  problem  at  its  worst  and  most 

complicated  point.  India,  south  of  the  Vindhyas — the 
Peninsular  India — still  continues  to  be  India  Proper.  Here 
the  bulk  of  the  people  continue  distinctly  to  retain  their  pre- 
Aryan  features,  their  pre-Aryan  languages,  their  pre-Aryan 
social  institutions.  Even  here,  the  process  of  Aryanization 
has  gone  indeed  too  far  to  leave  it  easy  for  the  historian  to 
distinguish  the  native  warp  from  the  foreign  M'oof.  But,  if 
there  is  anywhere  any  chance  of  such  successful  disentangle- 
ment, it  is  in  the  South ;  and  the  farther  South  we  go  the 
larger  does  the  chance  grow. 

Tile  scientific  historian  of  India,  then,  ought  to  begin  his 
study  with  the  basin  of  the  Krishna,  of  the  Cauvery,  of  the 
Vaigai,  rather  than  with  the  Gangetic  plain,  as  it  has  been 
now  long,  too  long,  the  fashion.*  ^ 

When  the  ideal  Early  History  of  India,  including  institu- 
tions as  well  as  political  vicissitudes,  comes  to  be  written  on 
a  large  scale,  it  may  be  that  the  hints  given  by  the  learned 
Professor  will  be  acted  on,  and  that  the  historian  will  begin 
with  the  South.  But  the  time  is  not  yet  ripe  for  such  revo- 
lutionary treatment  of  the  subject,  and  at  present  I  must 
follow  the  old  fashion. 

^  The  late  Prof.  Sundaram  Pillai,  as  quoted  in  Tamilian  Antiquary, 
No.  2  (1908),  p.  4. 


SCOPE  OF  WORK  9 

An  attempt  to  present  in  narrative  form  the  history  of  the  Scope  of  ' 
ancient  dominant  dynasties  of  Northern  India  is,  therefore, 
the  primary  purpose  of  this  work.  The  story  of  the  great 
southern  kingdoms,  being  known  too  imperfectly  to  permit  of 
treatment  on  the  same  scale,  necessarily  occupies  less  space  j 
while  the  annals  of  the  innumerable  minor  states  in  every 
part  of  the  country  seldom  offer  matter  of  sufficient  general 
interest  to  warrant  narration  in  detail.  In  the  fourteenth 
chapter,  the  reader  will  find  a  condensed  account  of  the  more 
salient  events  in  the  story  of  the  principal  mediaeval  king- 
doms of  the  north ;  and  the  two  succeeding  ciiapters  are 
devoted  to  an  outline  of  the  fortunes  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
Deccan  tableland  and  the  Peninsula,  so  far  as  they  are  known, 
from  the  earliest  times  to  the  Muhammadan  invasion  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

The  time  dealt  with  is  that  extending  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  historical  period  in  650  or  600  B.C.  to  the 
Muhammadan  conquest,  which  may  be  dated  in  round 
numbers  as  having  occurred  in  a.d.  1200  in  the  north,  and 
a  century  later  in  the  south.  The  earliest  political  event  in 
India  to  which  an  approximately  correct  date  can  be  assigned 
is  the  establishment  of  the  Saisunaga  dynasty  of  Magadha 
about  600  B.C.,  the  beginning  of  'the  sixth  century — that 
wonderful  century — a  cardinal  epoch  in  human  history,  if 
ever  there  was  one '. 


II.     SOURCES   OF   INDIAN   HISTORY 

The  sources  of,  or  original  authorities  for,  the  early  history  Four 
of  India  may  be  arranged  in  four  classes.  The  first  of  these  ^""'■^^^• 
is  tradition,  chiefly  as  recorded  in  native  literature ;  the 
second  consists  of  those  writings  of  foreign  travellers  and 
historians  which  contain  observations  on  Indian  subjects ; 
the  third  is  the  evidence  of  archaeology,  which  may  be 
subdivided  into  the  monumental,  the  epigraphic,  and  the 
numismatic ;  and  the  fourth  comprises  the  few  works  of 
native  contemporary,  or  nearly  contemporary,  literature 
which  deal  expressly  with  historical  subjects. 


10  80 LUCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 

Tradition        For  the  period  anterior  to  Alexander  tiie  Great,  extending 
earlifist       ^''*^"'  ^^^^  Ji.  c.  to  32(i  H.  c,  dependence  must  be  placed  almost 
perifjd.        wholly  upon  literary  tradition,  communicated  through  works 
comjxj.sed  in  many  different  ages,  and  frequently  recorded  in 
scattered    incidental    notices.     The  purely  Indian  traditions 
are  supplemented  by  the  notes  of  the  Greek  authors,  Ktesias, 
HerodotuS;  the  historians  of   Alexander,   Megasthenes  and 
others. 
The  The  Kashmir  Chronicle,  composed  in  the  twelfth  centun', 

Chronicle.  ^^'^'•'^^  i^  in  form  the  nearest  approach  to  a  work  of  regular 
history  in  extant  Sanskrit  literature,  contains  a  large  body 
of  confused  ancient  traditions,  which  can  be  used  only  with 
much  cuutioij.  It  is  also  of  high  value  as  a  trustworthy 
record  of  local  events  for  the  period  contemporary  with,  or 
slightly  preceding,  the  author's  lifetime.^ 
^V*^*"-  The  great  Sanskrit  epics,  the  Mahabharata  and  Ramayana, 
while  of  value  as  traditional  pictures  of  social  life  in  the 
heroic  age,  do  not  seem  to  contain  matter  illustrating  tiie 
political  relations  of  states  during  the  historical  period. 
Inridental  Linguistic  specialists  have  extracted  from  the  works  of 
grammarians  and  other  authors  many  incidental  references 
to  ancient  traditiofj,  which  collectively  amount  to  a  consider- 
able addition  to  hist^jrical  knowledge.  Such  passages  from 
Sanskrit  and  Prakrit  literature,  so  far  as  they  have  come 
t()  my  notice,  have  been  utilized  in  this  work ;  but  some 
may  have  escaped  attention. 
Jain  The  sacred  books  of  the  Jain  sect,  wliich  are   still  very 

imperfectly  known,  also  contain  numerous  historical  state- 
ments and  allusions  of  considerable  value.^ 

'  KalharuiH     li/jjalaranf/ini,     a  Hermann  Jacobi   '.S'.   B.   E.,   vols. 

Chronicle  of  fJif,  Ki/u/g  of  Kn^mlr,  xxii,  xlv;.     For  full  information  on 

translated    with    an    Introduc-tion,  all  publications  relating  to  Jainism 

Commentary,  and  Appendices,  hy  see  Ur.   A.  Guf-rinot's  fine  work, 

M.    A.    Stein    '2  vols.,    Constable,  Esitai  de  Jiihliof/rajjfiie  Jainfi,r<^jjer- 

IWH)^.     This   monumental  work   is  loire  aruilylique   nt    melhodujne  deg 

as  creditable  Uj  the  enterfjrise  of  Iravaux  relali/s  uu  Jainijime    Paris, 

the  publishers  as   it   is   trj  the  in-  Leroux,    I'JOd ;    pp.   568  ,  and  the 

dustry  and   learning  of  the  trans-  supplement  to  it,  entitled   '  Notes 

lat/>r,    who    h;is    also    prfxluccd    a  de    Uibiiographie   Jaina'    'J.    As., 

critical  edition  of  the  text.  Juillet-Aout     1909,.      The     reader 

'^  Some  of  the  leading  Jain  texts  may  also  consult  IJarrxlia,  H'mlory 

have    been     translated    by    Prof.  and  LUeralure  of  Jainiimi,  Bombay, 


notices. 


books. 


THE  PURANAS  11 

The    Jatakii,   or    Birth   stories,   and   other    books    of    the  Jutaka    • 
Biuhlhist  eaiion,  iiielude  many  incidental  references  to  the  ^*""*^s- 
political  condition  of  India  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries 
B.C.,   which    although    not    exactly   contemporary   with   the 
events  alluded  to,  certainly  transmit  genuine  historical  tra- 
dition.^ 

The  chronicles  of  Ceylon  in  the  Pali  language,  of  whieii  Pali 
the  Dlpavuinsa,  dating  probably  from  the  fourth  century  <JJ^"Y'^s 
after  Christ,  and  the  Mahdvamsa,  about  a  century  and 
a  half  later  in  date,  are  the  best  known,  offer  several  dis- 
crepant vei'sions  of  early  Indian  traditions,  chiefly  concerning 
the  Maurya  dynasty.  These  Sinhalese  stories,  the  value  of 
which  has  been  sometimes  overestimated,  demand  cautious 
criticism  at  least  as  much  as  do  other  records  of  popular  and 
ecclesiastical  tradition. ^ 

The  most  systematic  record  of  Indian  historical  tradition  The 

is  that  preserved  in  the  dynastic  lists  of  the  Puranas.     Five    "'"^^^s- 

out  of  the  eighteen  works  of  this  class,  namely,  the  Vayu, 

Matsya,  Vishnu,  Brahmanda,  and  Bhagavata  contain  such 

lists.     The  Matsya  is  the  earliest  and  most  authoritative. 

Theory  required   that  a  Purana  should  deal  with  '  the  five 

topics  of  primary  creation,  secondary  creation,  genealogies 

of  gods  and   patriarchs,   reigns  of  various  Manus,  and  the 

1909;  and  Mrs.  Sinclair  Stevenson,  CeylonchroniclesseeRhysDavids's 

Notes  on  Modern  Jalnism,   Black-  Buddhist  ludm ;  and,  on  the  other 

well,  Oxford,  1910.     The  best  sum-  side,  Foulkes,  'The  Vicissitudes  of 

mary  of  the  early  history  of  Jain-  the  Buddhist  Literature  of  Ceylon  ' 

ism  in  English  is  that  given  by  Dr.  {Jnd.  Ant.  xvii,  100);  'Buddhagho- 

Hoernle  in  his  presidential  address  sa'  (ibid,  xix,  105) ;  Taw  Sein  Ko, 

to  the  Asiatic   Society  of  Bengal  *  Kalyani  Inscriptions '  (^ibid.  xxii, 

{Proc.   A.  S.  B.,  1898,  pp.    39-53).  14) ;  V.  A.  Smith,  Asoka,  the  Bud- 

I3Uhler's   tract    Ueber   die   indische  dhist   Emperor  of  India,   2nd   ed. 

Secte  der  Jaina  (1887)  was  ed.  and  1909.     The    Mahdvamsa    exists   in 

transl.    by    Burgess    (1903),    with  more  recensions  than  one  ;  but  that 

many  errors  in  the  rendering  (Z.  D.  ordinarily  quoted  is  the  one  trans- 

M.  O.,  1906,  p.  38-1..  lated  by  Turnour,  whose  version  has 

'  A  complete  translation  of  the  been  revised  by  Wijesimha.  The 
Jatakas,  initiated  by  the  late  Prof.  latest  version  is  that  by  Prof.  Geiger 
Cowell,  and  executed  by  Dr.  W.  H.  and  Mrs.  Bode  (/.  Fuli  Text  Sac, 
D.  Rouse  and  other  scholars,  has  1912).  Mr  John  Still's  hidex  to  the 
been  published  (Cambridge  1895-  Ma/jrtwan.«a  (Colombo,  1907),  is  use- 
1907,  and  Index  1913).  For  a  ful.  The  Z>?jL>avam^a  has  been  trans- 
theory  as  to  the  date  of  the  collec-  lated  by  Prof.  Oldenberg.  See  Gei- 
tion  see  Rhys  Davids's  Buddhist  ger,  Dipavcmmi  und  Mahdvam&a 
India,  pp.  189-208.  (Leipzig,     Bdhme,     1905 ;      Engl. 

*  For  a  favourable  view  of  the  transl.  in  Ind.  Ant.,  1906,  p.  153). 


12 


SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 


Darius, 
Ktesias, 
Hero- 
dotus. 


Officers 
of  Alexan 
der,  and 
envoys. 


Arrian, 

and 

others. 


histories  of  tlie  old  dynasties  of  kings '.  Tiie  last  named  of 
the  five  topics  is  the  only  one  which  concerns  the  historian^. 
Modern  European  writers  have  been  inclined  to  disparage 
unduly  the  authority  of  the  Puranic  lists,  but  closer  study 
finds  in  them  much  genuine  and  valuable  historical  tradition. 

The  earliest  foreign  notice  of  India  is  that  in  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  Persian  king,  Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  at 
Persepolis  and  Naksh-i-Rustam,  the  latter  of  which  may  be 
referred  to  the  year  486  b.c,^  Herodotus,  who  wrote  late 
in  the  fifth  century,  contributes  valuable  information  con- 
cerning the  relation  between  India  and  the  Persian  empire, 
which  supplements  the  less  detailed  statements  of  the  in- 
scriptions. The  fragments  of  the  works  of  Ktesias  of  Knidos, 
wiu)  Avas  physician  to  Artaxerxes  Mnemon  in  401  B.C.,  and 
amused  himself  by  collecting  travellers'  tales  about  the 
wonders  of  the  East,  are  of  very  slight  value.^ 

Europe  was  practically  ignorant  of  India  until  the  veil 
was  lifted  by  Alexander's  operations  and  the  reports  of 
his  officers.  Some  twenty  years  after  his  death  the  Greek 
ambassadors  sent  by  the  kings  of  Syria  and  Egypt  to  the 
court  of  the  Maurya  emperors  recorded  careful  observations 
on  the  country  to  which  they  were  accredited,  which  have 
been  partially  preserved  in  the  works  of  many  Greek  and 
Roman  authors.  The  fragments  of  Megasthenes  are  especially 
valuable."* 

Arrian,  a  Graeco-Roman  official  of  the  second  century 
after  Christ,  wrote  a  capital  description  of  India,  as  well  as 
an  admirable  critical  history  of  Alexander's  invasion.  Both 
these  works  being  based  upon  the  reports  of  Ptolemy  son  of 
Lagos,  and  other  officers  of  Alexander,  and  the  writings  of 


'  Macdonel),  Hist,  of  Sanskrit 
Literature,  p.  301.  The  Vishnu 
Purana  was  translated  by  H.  H. 
Wilson,  whose  version  was  im- 
proved and  annotated  by  Hall. 
The  relative  dates  of  the  different 
Puriinas,  as  stated  by  Bhandarkar 
in  Early  Hist,  of  the  Dekkan,  2nd 
ed.,  p.  l(>2  'Bomhay  Gazetteer  {IHim;, 
vol.  i,  part  ii)  are  corrected  by 
the  more  recent  researches  of  Mr. 


Pargiter,  for  which  see  App.  A  at 
the  end  of  this  chapter. 

''  Rawlinson,  Herodotus,  vol.  ii, 
p.  U)3  ;  iv,  207. 

s  Translated  by  McCrindle  in 
Jud.  Ant.  X,  ^96 ;  the  translation 
was  also  published  separately  at 
Calcutta  in  1HH2. 

*  Edited  by  Schwanbeck,  Bonn, 
184-();  translated  by  McCrindle, 
1877. 


CHINESE  WRITERS  13 

the  Greek  ambassadors,  are  entitled  to  a  large  extent  to  the 
credit  of  contemporary  documents,  so  far  as  the  Indian 
history  of  the  fourth  century  b.c.  is  concerned.  The  works 
of  Quintus  Curtius  and  other  authors,  who  essayed  to  tell 
the  story  of  Alexander's  Indian  campaign,  are  far  inferior  in 
value ;  but  each  has  merits  of  its  own.^ 

The  philosophical  romance,  composed  in  honour  of  Apol-  Apollo- 
lonios  of  Tyana  by  Philostratos  '  the  Athenian '  about  Xyana. 
A.D.  215-18  at  the  request  of  the  empress  Julia  Domna, 
professes  to  give  miimte  and  interesting  details  of  the  observa- 
tions made  by  the  hero  of  the  book  in  the  course  of  a  tour 
through  north-western  India,  which  according  to  Professor 
Petrie  took  place  in  the  cold  season  of  a.d.  43-4.  If  the 
details  recorded  could  be  trusted  this  account  would  be 
invaluable,  but  so  much  of  the  story  is  obviously  fiction  that 
no  statement  by  the  author  can  be  accepted  with  confidence. 
It  is  not  even  certain  that  ApoUonios  visited  India  at  all.^ 

The    Chinese    '  Father   of    history ',    Ssii-ma-ch'ien,    who  Chinese 
completed  his  work  about  100  b.c,  is  the  first  of  a  long  *"^*^"^"^- 
series  of  Chinese  historians,  whose  writings  throw  much  light 
upon  the  early  annals  of  India.     The  accurate  chronology 
of  the  Chinese  authors  gives  their  statements  peculiar  value.'' 

The  stream  of  Chinese  Buddhist  pilgrims  who  continued  Fa-hien, 
for    several   centuries    to   visit    India,   which   they  regarded  pjwf^^ 
as  their  Holy  Land,  begins  with  Fa-hien  (Fa-hsien) ;  who 
started  on  his  travels  in  a.d.  399,  and  returned  to   China 

^  Most  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  Prof.  Flinders  Petrie,  Personal  Re- 

noticesof  India  have  been  collected,  ligion  in  Egypt  before  Christianity, 

translated,  and  discussed  by  the  late  1909,  and  the  two  translations  of  the 

Dr.  McCrindle  in  six  usefid  books,  work  of  Philostratos  published  by 

published  between  1882  and  1901,  Prof.   Philliinore  and  F.  C.  Cony- 

and  deahng  with  (1)  Ktesias,  (2) /w-  beare  in  1913, 

dika  of  Megasthenes  and  Arrian,  *  M.   Chavannes    has    published 

(3)    Periplu^    of    the    Erythraean  five  volumes,  out  of  nine,  of  a  trans- 

Sea,     (4)     Ptolemy's     Geography,  lationofSsQ-ma-ch'ien.  TheFrench 

(5)  Alexander's     Invasion,     and  sinologists  have  been  specially  ac- 

(6)  Ancient  India,  as  described  by  tive  in  exploring  the  Chinese  sources 
other  classical  writers.  The  latest  of  Indian  history,  and  several  of 
version  of  the  Periplus  is  that  by  their  publications  will  be  cited  in 
Mr.  W.  H.  SchoflF  (1912).  later  chapters.   For  the  chronology, 

*  Concerning  the  credibility  of  the  the    work    entitled    Synchronismes 

tale  see  Priaulx,  The  Indian  Travels  chinois,  by  Le  P.  Mathias  Tchang, 

of    Apollonius     of     Tyana,     &c.  S.J.    (Chang-Hai,    1905),   is   very 

(Quaritch,  1873,  a  very  rare  book) ;  useful. 


14  SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 

fifteen  years  later.  The  book  in  which  he  recorded  his 
journeys  has  been  preserved  complete,  and  translated  once 
into  French,  and  four  times  into  Etig-lish.  It  includes  a  very 
interesting  and  valuable  description  of  the  government  and 
social  condition  of  the  Gangetic  provinces  during  the  reign 
of  Chandra-gupta  II,  Vikramaditya.^  Several  oilier  pilgrims 
left  behind  them  works  which  contribute  something  to  the 
elucidation  of  Indian  historj-,  and  their  testimony  will  be 
cited  in  due  course. 
Hiuen  The    prince    of    pilgrims,    the    illustrious    Hiuen    Tsang, 

Tsang.  whose  fame  as  Master  of  the  Law  still  resounds  through  all 
Buddhist  lands,  deserves  more  particular  notice.  His  travels, 
described  in  a  work  entitled  Records  of  the  Western  World, 
which  has  been  translated  into  French^  English,  and  German, 
extended  from  a.d.  629  to  645,  and  covered  an  enormous 
area,  including  almost  every  part  of  India,  except  the  extreme 
south.  His  book  is  a  treasure-house  of  accurate  information, 
indispensable  to  every  student  of  Indian  antiquity,  and  has 
done  more  than  any  archaeological  discovery  to  render  possible 
the  remarkable  resuscitation  of  lost  Indian  history  which  has 
been  recently  effected.  Although  the  chief  historical  value 
of  Hiuen  Tsang 's  work  consists  in  its  contemporary  description 
of  political,  religious,  and  social  institutions,  the  pilgrim  has 
increased  the  debt  of  gratitude  due  to  his  memory  by  record- 
ing a  considerable  mass  of  ancient  tradition,  which  would 
have  been  lost  but  for  his  care  to  preserve  it.  The  Life  of 
Hiuen  Tsang,  composed  by  his  friend  Hwui-li,  contributes 
many  details  supplemental  to  the  narrative  in  the  Records,^ 
though  not  quite  so  trustworthy. 
Alberfini.  The  learned  mathematician  and  astronomer,  Alberunl, 
almost  the  only  Muhammadan  scholar  who  has  ever  taken  the 
trouble  to  master  Sanskrit,  essentially  a  language  of  idolatrous 
unbelievers,  when  regarded  from  a  Muslim  point  of  view, 
entered  India  in  the  train  of  Mahmiid  of  Ghazni.  His  work, 
descriptive  of   the  country,  and  entitled  '  An   Enquiry  into 

'  In  order  to  prevent  confusion,       that  of  Chandra-gupta  I  and  II  of 
the  name  of  Chandragupta  Maurya       the  Gupta  dynasty  with  it. 
is  printed  witliout  the  hyphen,  and  *  See  Appendix  B,  The  Chinese 

I'ilffrim.s,  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


INSCRIPTIONS  15 

India^  {Tahklk-i-Hind),  whicli  was  finished  in  a.d.  1030,  is 
of  high  value  as  an  account  of  Hindu  manners,  science,  and 
literature ;  but  contributes  comparative!}'  little  information 
which  can  be  utilized  for  the  purposes  of  political  history.^ 

The  visit  of  the  Venetian  traveller,  Marco  Polo,  to  Southern  Marco 
India  in  a.d.  1294-5  just  comes  within  the  limits  of  this 
volume.- 

The  Muhammadan  historians  of  India  are  valuable  autho-  Muham- 
rities  for  the  history  of  the  conquest  by  the  armies  of  Islam  ;  historians. 
and  the  early  Muslim  travellers  throw  much  light  upon  the 
condition  of  the  mediaeval  Hindu  kingdoms.^ 

The  monumental  class  of  archaeological  evidence,  considered  Monu- 

by  itself  and  apart  from  the  inscriptions   on   the   walls   of  evidence. 

buildings,   while    it   offers  little   direct   contribution   to   the 

materials  for  political  history,  is  of  high  illustrative  value, 

and   greatly  helps  the   student  in   realizing  the  power  and 

magnificence  of  some  of  the  ancient  dynasties. 

Unquestionably  the  most  copious  and  important  source  of  Inscrip- 
1      T    T        1  •  •       1  •         I  •  11  i    tions. 

early   Indian   history  is  the   epigraphic ;    and   the   accurate 

knowledge  of  many  periods  of  the  long-forgotten  past  which 

has   now  been  attained  is  derived  mainly  from  the  patient 

study  of  inscriptions  during  the  last  seventy  or  eighty  years. 

Inscriptions  are  of  many  kinds.     Asoka^s  edicts,  or  sermons 

on  stone,  form  a  class  by  themselves  ;    no  other  sovereign 

having  imitated  his  practice  of  engraving  ethical  exhortations 

on  the  rocks.     Equally  peculiar  is  the  record  on  tables  of 

stone  of  two  Sanskrit  plays  at  Ajmer,  and  of  a  third  at  Dhar. 

A  fragmentary  inscription  at  Chitor,  on  the  great  tower,  is 

1  Edited     and     translated     by  conveniently    consulted    in    Elliot 

Sachau.     Raverty  points  out  that  and  Dowson's  History  of  India  as 

the    title    of    Alberunl's    work    is  told  hy  its  own  Historians,  8  vols., 

Tahklk-,  not  Tarihh-i-Hind  (J.  A.  1867-77  ;      a    valuable    work,    al- 

S.  B.',  1872,  part  I,   p.   186  note).  though  not  free  from  errors,  many 

The  author's  full  designation  was  of  which  have  been  corrected  by 

Abu-Rihan,    Muhammad,    son    of  Raverty   in    various    publications. 

Ahmad ;  but  he  became  familiarly  Bayley  and   Dowson's   History  of 

known   as  the    Ustcld,  or  Master,  Gujarat,    1886    (only   one    volume 

Bu-Rihan,     surnamed     Al-Berunl  puiilished),  is  a  supplement  to  the 

(ibid.).  general  collection.     See  also  Abu 

*  M.  Cordier  brought  out  a  new  Turab's    Histm-y    of   Gujarat,   ed. 

edition  of  Yide's  version  in  1903.  Denison  Ross,  published  by  A.  S. 

»  The   works    of  both  the    his-  B.,  1909. 
torians  and  the  travellers  are  most 


16 


SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 


inscrip 
tions. 


part  of  a  treatise  on  architecture.^  But  the  great  majority 
of  inscriptions  are  commemorative,  dedicatory,  or  donative. 
The  first  and  second  classes  comprise  a  vast  variety  of  records, 
extending  from  the  mere  signature  of  a  pilgrim's  name  to  an 
elaborate  panegyrical  poem  in  the  most  artificial  style  of 
Sanskrit  verse ;  and  for  the  most  part  are  incised  on  stone. 
The  third  class^  the  donative  inscriptions,  or  grants,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  mostly  engraved  on  plates  of  copper,  the 
favourite  material  used  for  permanent  record  of  conveyances. 
Southern  The  south  of  India  is  peculiarly  rich  in  inscriptions  of 
almost  all  kinds,  both  on  stone  and  copper,  some  of  which 
attain  extraordinary  length.  The  known  southern  inscrip- 
tions number  several  thousands,  and  many  must  remain  for 
future  discovery.  But  these  records,  notwithstanding  their 
abundance,  are  inferior  in  interest  to  the  rarer  northern 
documents,  by  reason  of  their  comparatively  recent  date. 
No  southern  inscription  earlier  than  the  Christian  era  is 
known,  except  the  Mysore  editions  of  Asoka's  Minor  Rock 
Edicts  and  the  brief  dedications  of  the  Bhattiprolu  caskets.^ 
The  records  prior  to  the  seventh  century  after  Christ  are  few. 

The  oldest  northern  document  was  supposed  at  one  time 
to  be  the  dedication  of  the  relics  of  Buddha  at  Piprawa,  which 
w^as  believed  to  date  from  about  450  b.c,  but  more  recent 
criticism  has  thrown  doubt  upon  that  theory.^  In  fact,  no 
extant  inscription,  in  either  the  north  or  south,  can  be  referred 
Avith  confidence  to  a  date  earlier  than  that  of  Asoka,  the 
middle  of  the  third  century  B.C.  The  number  of  documents 
prior  to  the  Christian  era  is  much  more  considerable  in  the 
north  than  in  the  south.  Very  few  records  of  the  third 
century  after  Christ  have  survived,  but,  if  the  scheme  of 
Kushan  chronology  adopted  in  this  work  is  correct,  those 
of  the  second  century  may  be  described  as  numerous. 

Although  much  excellent  work  has  been  done,  infinitely 


Oldest 
inscrip- 
tions. 


Work  re- 
maining. 


^  Kielhorn,  Bruchstiicke  indischer 
Schau.s})iele  in  Iiischrifteu  zuAjmere 
(Berlin,  1901):  Hultzsch,  Archaeol. 
S.  of  India,  Annmd  Report,  1903-4, 
p.  240 :  Proqr.  Rep.  Arclmeol. 
S.  W.  /.,  1  !)():$- i,  pp.  10,  58. 

*  Ep.  Ind.  ii,  323.     A  few  pre- 


Christian  records  of  little  importance 
exist  in  Ceylon,  but  in  India  I  do 
not  remember  any  except  those 
named. 

'  Barth.,   J.    des    Savants,    Oct. 
1906  ;  Ind.  Ant.,  1907,  pp.  117-24. 


PIPRAWA    INSCRIBED    VASE    CONTAINING    RELICS   OF   BUDDHA 

(.   .  .  sali/aiini/uuiir  biidhasa  bhagavate  .    .  .) 


NUMISMATICS  17 

more  remains  to  be  clone  before  the  study  of  Indian  inscrip- 
tions can  be  considered  as  exhausted ;  and  the  small  body  of 
unselfisli  workers  at  the  subject  is  in  urgent  need  of  recruits, 
content  to  find  tlieir  reward  in  the  interest  of  the  work  itself, 
the  pleasure  of  discovery,  and  the  satisfaction  of  adding  to 
the  world's  knowledge.^ 

The  numismatic   evidence  as  a  whole  is  more  accessible  Numis- 
than  the  epigraphic.    Many  classes  of  Indian  coins  have  been  ™*  ^^^' 
discussed  in  special  treatises,  and  compelled  to  yield  their 
contributions  to  history  ;  while  a  general  survey  completed  by 
Prof.  Rapson  enables  the  student  to  judge  how  far  the  muse 
of  history  has  been  helped  by  her  numismatic  handmaid. 

From  the  time  of  Alexander's  invasion  coins  afford  invalu- 
able aid  to  the  researches  of  the  historian  in  every  period ;  and 
for  the  Bactrian,  Indo-Greek,  and  Indo-Parthian  dynasties 
they  constitute  almost  the  sole  evidence.^ 

The  fourth  class  of   materials   for,   or  sources  of,   early  Contem- 
Indian  history,  namely,contemporary,or  nearly  contemporary,  Uterafure. 
native  literature  of  an  historical  kind,  is  of  limited  extent, 
comprising,  in  addition  to  the  Kashmir  chronicle  {ante,  p.  10), 
and  local  annals  of  Nepal  and  Assam,  a  few  works  in  Sanskrit 

^  See  Dr.  Fleet's  article  in  Ind.  matics  are  :— Rapson,  Indian  Coins 

Ant.,  1901,  p.   1,  and  his  chapter  (Strassburg,  1898) ;  and  Catalogue 

'  Epigraphy '  in  '  The  Indian  Em-  of  the  Coins  of  the  Andhra  Dynasty, 

pire',  vol.  ii  of  Imperial  Gazetteer,  ^c,  in  the  British  Museum,  1908; 

1908.     It  is  impossible  to  give  a  Cunmngham,  Coins  of  Ancient  India 

complete  list  of  the  publications  in  (1891);    Coins   of  Mediaeval  India 

which  Indian  inscriptions  appear.  (1894);  Von  Sallet,  Die  Nachfolger 

The  properly  edited  records  will  be  Alexanders  des  Grossen  in  Baktrien 

found  mostly  in  the  Indian  And-  und  Indien  (Berlin,  1879);  P.  Gard- 

quary,    Epigraphia    Indica,    South  ner,    2'he   Coins  of  the   Greek   and 

Indian  Inscriptions,  and  Dr.  Fleet's  Scythic  Kings  of  Bactria  and  India 

Gupta  Inscriptions  ;  but  documents,  in  the  British  Museum  (1886) ;  V.  A. 

more  or  less  satisfactorily  edited.  Smith,    three    treatises    on    'The 

will  be  met  with  in  almost  all  the  Gupta  Coinage'  (/.  A.  S.  B.,  vol. 

voluminous  publications  on  Indian  liii,  part  1,  1884 ;   ibid.,  vol.  Ixiii, 

archaeology.     Mr.  Lewis  Rice  has  part    1,    1894;    J.  R.  A.  S.,   Jan., 

published  notices  of  thousands  of  1899);      'Andhra      History     and 

southern  documents  in  Epigraphia  Coinage '  {Z.  D.  M.  G.,  1902,  1903) ; 

Carnatica  and  other  works,  sura-  Catalogue  of  Coins   in  the   Indian 

marized  in  Mysore  and  Coorg  from  Museum,  vol.  i(1906) ;  Elliot,  Coins 

the  Inscriptions  (Constable,  1909).  of  Southern  India   (1883).     Minor 

Prof.  Kielhorn's  and  Prof.  Luders's  publications  are   too  numerous  to 

List3,v/\t\iSupplem£ntsinEp.lnd.,  specify.       The     early    essays    by 

v,  vii,  viii,  and  x  are  invaluable.  James  Prinsep  and  other  eminent 

^  Some  of  the  principal  modern  scholars  are  now  mostly  obsolete, 
works  on   ancient    Indian    numis- 


18 


SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 


Chrono- 
logical 
difficul- 
ties. 


and  Prakrit^  Avith  certain  poems  in  Tamil.  None  of  these 
Morks  is  pure  liistory ;  they  are  all  of  a  romantic  character, 
and  present  the  facts  with  much  embellishment. 

The  best-known  composition  of  this  class  is  that  entitled 
'The  Deeds  of  Harsha^  (Harsha-Charita),  written  by  Bana, 
about  A.D.  620,  in  praise  of  his  master  and  patron,  King 
Harsha  of  Thanesar  and  Kanauj,  which  is  of  high  value, 
both  as  a  depository  of  ancient  tradition,  and  a  record  of 
contemporary  history,  in  spite  of  obvious  faults,^  A  similar 
work  called  '  The  Deeds  of  Vikramanka ',  by  Bilhana,  a  poet 
of  the  twelfth  century,  is  devoted  to  the  eulogy  of  a  powerful 
king  who  ruled  a  large  territory  in  the  south  and  west  between 
A.D.  1076  and  1126.^  A  valuable  poem  entitled  Rdmacharita, 
dealing  with  the  Pala  kings  of  Bengal,  discovered  in  1897,  was 
published  in  1910^ ;  and  several  compositions,  mostly  by  Jain 
authors,  besides  that  of  Bilhana,  treat  of  the  history  of  the 
Ciialukya  dynasties  of  the  west.^  The  earliest  of  the  Tamil 
poems  alluded  to  is  believed  to  date  from  the  first  or  second 
century  of  the  Christian  era.  These  compositions,  which 
include  epics  and  panegyrics  on  famous  kings  of  the  south, 
appear  to  contain  a  good  deal  of  historical  matter.^ 

The  obstacles  which  prevented  for  so  many  years  the  con- 
struction of  a  continuous  narrative  of  Early  Indian  History 
are  due,  not  so  mucli  to  the  deficiency  of  material  as  to  the 
lack  of  definite  chronology  referred  to  by  Elphinstone  and 
Cowell.  The  rough  material  is  not  so  scanty  as  has  been 
supposed.  The  data  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  early  history 
of  all  nations  are  necessarily  meagre,  largely  consisting  of  bare 
lists  of  names  supplemented  by  vague  and  often  contradictory 
traditions   Avhich   pass    insensibly    into    popular    mythology. 


^  Translated  by  Cowell  and 
Thomas  (Or.  TransL  Fund,^'.S., 
published  by  K.  As.  Society,  1897). 

■'  Ed.  by  IJiihler  with  English 
Introduction  in  Bombay  Sanskrit 
Series,  No.  xiv,  1875,  and  fully 
described  and  criticized  in /»rZ.y/n<., 
v(187();,  pp.  'M7,-S2i;  xxx  (1901), 
p.  12. 

*  Memoirs  A.  S.B.,  vol.  iii  (1910), 
pp.  1-5C. 

*  Proc.    A.  S.  B.,    1901,    p.    2(i: 


G.  H.  Ojha,  Early  History  of  the 
Solankis,  part  I,  p.  2  ;  Ajmer,  1907  ; 
in  Hindi. 

'  Analysed  by  Mr.  V.  Kanaka- 
sabhai  Filial  {Ind.  Ant.,  xviii,  259; 
xix,  329 ;  xxii,  1 H).  See  The  'Tamils 
Eighteen  Hundred  Years  Ago  by 
same  author  ;  Madras,  190i:  S.  K. 
Aiyangar,  Ancient  India  (1911); 
and  many  articles  in  The  Tamilian 
Antiquary. 


NUMEROUS  ERAS  19 

The  historian  of  ancient  India  is  fairly  well  provided  with 
a  supply  of  such  lists,  traditions,  and  mytholoii^y ;  which,  of 
course,  require  to  be  treated  on  the  strict  critical  principles 
applied  by  modern  students  to  the  early  histories  of  both 
western  and  eastern  nations.  The  application  of  those  prin- 
ciples in  the  case  of  India  is  not  more  difficult  than  it  is  in 
Babylonia,  Egypt,  Greece,  or  Rome.  The  real  difficulty  is 
the  determination  of  fixed  chronological  points.  A  body  of 
history  must  be  supported  upon  a  skeleton  of  chronology, 
and  without  chronology  history  is  impossible. 

The  Indian  nations,  in  so  far  as  they  maintained  a  record  Numerous 
of  political  events,  kept  it  by  methods  of  their  own,  which  ^^^^' 
are  difficult  to  understand,  and  until  recently  were  not  at  all 
understood.  The  eras  used  to  date  events  are  not  only  different 
from  those  used  by  other  nations,  but  very  numerous  and 
obscure  in  their  origin  and  application.  Cunningham's  Book 
of  Indian  Eras  (1883)  enumerates  more  than  a  score  of  sys- 
tems which  have  been  employed  at  different  times  and  places 
in  India  for  the  computation  of  dates ;  and  his  list  might  be 
considerably  extended.  The  successful  efforts  of  several 
generations  of  scholars  to  recover  the  forgotten  history  of 
ancient  India  have  been  largely  devoted  to  a  study  of  the  local 
modes  of  chronological  computation,  and  have  resulted  in  the 
attainment  of  accurate  knowledge  concerning  most  of  the  eras 
used  in  inscriptions  and  other  documents.^  Armed  with  these 
results,  it  is  now  possible  for  a  writer  on  Indian  history  to 
compile  a  narrative  arranged  in  orderly  chronological  sequence, 
which  could  not  have  been  thought  of  eighty  or  even  forty 
years  ago. 

For  a  long  time  the  only  approximately  certain  date  in  the  Greek 
early  history  of  India  was  that  of  the  accession  of  Chandra-  j^g^ 
gupta    Maurya,    as    determined   by    his  identification    with 
Sandrakottos,  the  contemporary  of  Seleukos  Nikator,  accord- 
ing to  Greek  authors.     The  synchronism  of  Chandragupta's 

^  The    late   Professor    Kielhorn,  lars  have  made  valuable  contribu- 

Professor  Jacobi,   Mr.  R.   Sewell,  tions  to  knowledge.    Among  Indian 

and    Dr.   J.    F.    Fleet    have   done  students    of    the    subject    Diwan 

specially  valuable   service   in   this  L.   D.   Swaraikannu  Pillai   is  pre- 

department,  and  many  other  scho-  eminent. 

c3 


20  SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 

grandsoiij  Asoka^  with  Antiochos  Theos,  grandson  of  Seleukos^ 
and  four  other  Hellenistic  princes,  having  been  established 
subsequently  in  1838,  the  chronology  of  the  Maurya  dyn- 
asty was  placed  upon  a  firm  basis,  and  is  no  longer  open 
to  doubt  in  its  main  outlines. 

With  the  exception  of  these  tvv^o  synchronisms,  and  certain 
dates  in  the  seventh  century  after  Christ,  determined  by  the 
testimony  of  the  Chinese  pilgrim,  Hiuen  Tsang,  the  whole 
scheme  of  Indian  chronology  remained  indeterminate  and 
exposed  to  the  caprice  of  every  rash  guesser. 
Gupta  A  great  step  in  advance  was  gained  by  Dr.  Fleet's  deter- 

®''**  mination  of  the  Gupta  era,  which  had  been  the  subject  of 

much  wild  conjecture.  His  demonstration  that  the  year  1  of 
that  era  is  a.d.  319-20  fixed  the  chronological  position  of 
a  most  important  dynasty,  and  reduced  chaos  to  order.  Fa- 
hien's  account  of  the  civil  administration  of  the  Gangetic 
provinces  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  thus  fell  into 
its  place  as  an  important  historical  document  illustrating  the 
reign  of  Chandra-gupta  II,  Vikramaditya,  one  of  the  greatest 
of  Indian  kings.  Most  of  the  difficulties  which  continued  to 
embarrass  the  chronology  of  the  Gupta  period,  even  after 
the  announcement  of  Dr.  Fleet's  discovery  in  1887,  have 
been  removed  by  M.  Sylvain  Levi's  publication  of  the  syn- 
chronism of  Samudragupta  with  King  Meghavarna  of  Ceylon 
{c.  A.  D.  352-79). 
Andhra  A  connected,  although  imperfect,  history  of  the  Andhra 

i^n     *'°*  dy^'^sty  has  been  rendered  possible  by  the  establishment  of 
synchronisms  between  the  Andhra  kings  and  the  Western 
satraps. 
Northern        In  short,  the  labours  of  many  scholars  have  succeeded  in 
b  rv"°"      tracingin  firm  lines  the  outline  of  the  history  of  Northern  India 
settled;      from  the  beginning  of  the  historical  period  to  the  Muham- 
Kushkn      niadun  conquest,  with  one  important  exception,  that  of  the 
Kushan  or  Indo-Scythian  period,  the  date  of  which  is  still 
open    to    discussion.     Ti)e    system    of    Kushan    chronology 
adopted  in  this  volume  has  much  to  recommend  it,  and  is 
sufficiently  supported  to  serve  as  a  good  working  hypothesis. 
If  it  should  ultimately  secure  general  acceptance,  the  whole 


DATE  OF  PURANAS  21 

scheme  of  North  Indian  chronology  may  be   considered  as 
settled,  although  many  details  will  remain  to  be  filled  in. 

Much   progress   has   been  made  in  the  determination  of  Southern 
the  chronology  of  the  Southern  dynasties,  and  the  dates  of  ^oJy"° 
the    Pallavas,  a  dynasty  the  very  existence    of    which    was 
unknown  to  European  students  until  184<0,  have  been  worked 
out  with  special  success. 

The  foregoing  review  will,  I  trust,  satisfy  my  readers  that  Fcasibi- 
the  attempt  to  write  '  a  connected  relation  of  the  national  «'connect- 
transactions '  of  India  prior  to  the  Muhammadan  conquest  is  ^.d  rela- 
justified  by  an  adequate  supply  of  material  facts  and  sufficient 
determination  of  essential  chronological  data. 


APPENDIX    A 

The  Age  of  the  Purdnas. 

H.    H.    Wilson,    misunderstanding    certain   passages    in    the  Wilson's 
Puranas    as    referring    to    the    Muhammadans,   enunciated    the  erroneous 
opinion  that   the    Vishnu    Purana   was    composed    in    or  about    *  ^* 
A.  D.  1045.     The  error,  excusable  in  Wilson's  time,  unfoi-tunately 
continues  to  be  repeated  fi*equently,  although  refuted  by  patent 
facts  many  years  ago.'     The  persistent  repetition  of  Wilson's 
mistake    renders    it    desirable    to    bring    together  a  few  easily 
intelligible  and  decisive  proofs  that  the  Puranas  are  very  much 
older  than  he  supposed. 

Alberuni,    who    wrote     his     scientific     account    of    India    in  Evidence 
A.  n.  ]  030,  gives  a  list  of  the  eighteen   Puranas  '  composed  by  of 
the  so-called    Rishis ',  and    had  actually   seen   three   of  them,  ■f^'berum. 
namely  parts  of  the  Matsya,  Adilya,  and  Vdiju.     He  also  gives 
a  variant  list  of  the  eighteen  works,  as  named  in  the    Fishnit 
Pttrdna"^.     It  is,  therefore,  certain  that  in  a.d.  1030  the  Puranas 
were,  as  now,  eighteen  in  number,  and  were  regarded  as  com- 
ing down  from  immemorial  antiquity  when  the  mythical  Rishis 
lived. 

Bana,  the  author  of  the  Harsha-Chaiita,  or  panegyric  on  King  Bana. 
Harsha,  who   wrote  about   a.  d.  620,  carries   the   proof  of  the 
antiquity  of  the  Puranas  four  centuries   further   back.     When 
he  went  home  to  his  village  on  the  Son  river,  in  the  country 
now  known  as  the  Shahfibad  District,  he  listened  to  Sudjishti, 

V  e.g.,    it    recurs   in   the    latest,   23nd,   edition   of  Sir   W.    Hunter's 
book,  A  Brief  History  of  the  Indian  People,''  1897,  p.  103. 
*  Sachau's  translation,  vol.  i,  pp.  130,  131,  264. 


22 


SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 


Ancient 

Bengal 

MS. 


'  Ques- 
tions of 
Milinda. 


Gupta 
dynasty. 


Mr.  Par- 

giter's 
results. 


who  read  Svith  a  chant'  the  Vai/u  Purana  (^jmvanaprokta).^ 
Dr.  Fiihrer  believed  that  he  could  prove  the  use  by  Bana  of 
the  Agni,  Bhdgavata,  and  Markandeya  Purdnas,  as  well  as  the 
Vdipi  ^. 

Independent  proof  of  the  existence  of  the  Skanda  Purana 
at  the  same  period  is  afforded  by  a  Bengal  manuscript  of  that 
Avork,  '  written  in  Gupta  hand,  to  which  as  early  a  date  as  the 
middle  of  the  seventh  century  can  be  assigned  on  palaeographi- 
cal  grounds.'  ^ 

The  Puranas  in  some  form  were  well  known  to  the  author 
of  the  '  Questions  of  Milinda '  {^liUndapanhd)  as  ancient  sacred 
writings  grouped  with  the  Vedas  and  epic  jioems.  Book  I  of 
that  work,  in  which  the  first  reference  occurs,  is  undoubtedly 
part  of  the  original  composition,  and  was  almost  certainly  com- 
posed earlier  than  a.  d.  300.* 

Many  other  early  quotations  from,  or  references  to,  the 
Puranas  have  been  collected  by  Biihler,  who  points  out  that 
'the  account  of  the  future  kings  in  the  Fdijupumna,  Vishmi- 
jnirdna,  Matsijapiirdna,  and  Brahmdndapurdna  seems  to  stop  with 
tlie  imperial  Guptas  and  their  contemporaries'.®  Biihler  speaks 
of  '  future  kings ',  because  all  the  historical  statements  of  the 
Puranas  are  given  in  the  form  of  prophecy,  in  order  to  maintain 
the  appearance  of  great  antiquity  in  the  books,  which  in  their 
oldest  forms  were  undoubtedly  very  ancient. 

Mr.  F.  E.  Pargiter  in  his  valuable  work.  The  Di/misfies  of  the 
Kali  Age  (Clarendon  Press,  1913),  has  succeeded  in  obtaining 
more  definite  results.  He  proves  that  the  Bhavishya  Piirdna 
in  its  early  form  was  the  original  authority  from  which  the 
Matsya  and  VCiyri  Purdnas  derived  their  dynastic  lists.  The 
versions  of  those  lists  as  now  found  in  the  Matsi/a,  Vdyu,  and 
Brahmdnda  Purdnas  '  grew  out  of  one  and  the  same  original  text.' 
But  the  Matsya  version  is  the  earliest  and  best  of  those  three. 
The  Vishnu  and  Bhdgavata  Purdnas  are  later  condensed  redac- 
tions, and  the  Bhaiishya  in  its  existing  form,  which  has  been  freely 
interpolated,  is  woi-thless  for  historical  purposes.  Those  purposes 
are  served  only  by  the  Matsya,  J'ctyu,  and  Brahvidnrla.  There 
are  clear  indications  that  the  Sanskrit  account  of  the  dynasties 
as  it  now  stands  in  these  three  works  is  an  adaption  of  older 
Prakrit  slokas,  or  verses ;  and  there  is  some  reason  for  suspect- 
ing that  the  most  ancient  text  was  originally  wi-itten  in  the 
Kharoshthi  script. 

Mr.  Pargiter  holds  that  the  first  Sanskrit  compilation  of  the 
historical  matter  may  have  been  made  in  the  reign  of  the 
Andhra  king,  Yajnasrl,  about  the  end  of   the  second    century 


^  Cowell  and  Thomas,  trans., 
p.  72. 

"  Trans.  Vlth  Or.  Congress,  vol. 
iii.  p.  205. 


">  ./.  R.  A.  S.,  1903,  p.  193. 
*  S.  B.  L\,  vol.  XXXV,  pp.  6,  217. 
'  Ind.    Ant.,    vol.     xxv    (1896), 
p.  323. 


DATE  OF  PURANAS  23 

after  Christ ;  that  the  compilation  then  made  was  enlarged  in 
the  original  Bhavishya  Purdna  about  a.  n.  260  ;  that  the  Bhavishi/a 
account  was  revised  about  a.  d.  315-20  and  inserted  in  MS.  e 
Vdyu ;  that  the  same  account  was  again  revised  a  few  years 
later,  about  a.  d.  325-30,  and  inserted  in  the  other  Vayu  MSS. 
as  well  as  in  the  Brahmdmla,  so  that  those  Purdnas  have  preserved 
the  contents  of  the  Bhavishya  at  the  date  last  named.  The  Ma- 
tsya  version  seems  to  preserve  the  Bhavishya  text  in  a  slightly 
earlier  stage,  dating  from  about  the  last  quarter  of  the  third 
century. 

Mr.  Pargiter's  treatise  is  based  on  the  collation  of  sixty-three     , 
MSS.,  and  deserves  careful  study.    It  cites  other  authorities  fully. 

I  may  add  that  Purdnas  in  some  shape  were  already  author-  Puranas 
itative  in  the  fourth  century  u.  c.     The  author  of  the  Arthasdstra  ^"  fourth 
ranks  the  Atharvavcda  and  Itihdsa  as  the  fourth  and  fifth  Vedas  ^^"  ^^ 
(Bk.  I,  ch.  3) ;  and  directs  the  king  to  spend  his  afternoons  in 
the  study  of  Itihdsa,  which  is  defined  as  comprising  six  factors, 
namely,  (l)  Purdna,  (2)  Itivriita  (history),  (3)  Akhydyika  (tales), 
(4)     Uddharana    (illustrative     stories),    (5)    DharmaSdstra,    and 
(6)  Arthasdstra  (Bk.  I,  ch.  5). 


APPENDIX    B 

The   Chinese   Pilgrims 

The  transliteration  of  Chinese  names  presents  such  difficulties,  Chinese 
owing  to  many  reasons,  that  much  variation  exists  in  practice,  names ; 
The  name  of  the  first  pilgrim  is  variously  spelled  as  Fii-Hien  ^^-hien. 
(Legge) ;    Fa-hian  (Laidlay,  Beal) ;    and   Fa-Hsien    (Giles    and 
Watters).     In  this  volume  Legge's  spelling  has  been  adopted, 
omitting  the  long  vowel  mark,  which  is  not  used  by  the  other 
scholars  named. 

Fa-hien's  work,  entitled  Fo-kuo-ki  (or  '  Record  of  Buddhistic 
Kingdoms'),  covers  the  period  from  a.d.  399  to  414.^ 

The  early  French  version  by  Messrs.  Remusat,  Klaproth,  and  French 
Landresse  (1836)  was  translated  into  English  by  J.  W.  Laidlay,  version, 
and  published  anonymously  at  Calcutta  in  1 848,  with  additional 
notes  and  illustrations,  which  still  deserve  to  be  consulted. 

Mr.  Beal  issued  an  independent  version  in  a  small  volume,  Beal's 
entitled    Buddhist  Pilgrims,  published  in   1869,  which  was  dis- versions, 
figured    by    many    errors.     His    amended    and  much  improved 
rendering  appeared  in  the  first  volume  of  Buddhist   Records  of 
the    Western    World   (Triibner's  Oriental  Series,  Boston,  1885); 
but  the  notes  to  the  earlier  version  were  not  reprinted  in  full. 

The  translation  by  Mr.  Giles,  which  appeared  at  London  and  Giles's 

version. 
^  M.  Chavannes  {Song   Yun,  p.       that  Fa-hien  began  his  travels  in 
53)  agrees  with  Legge  and  Watters       a.  d.  399. 


24 


SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 


Legge's 
version. 


Name  of 

Hiuen 

Tsang. 


Julien's 
and  Beal's 
versions. 


Shanghai  in  1877,  is  intermediate  in  date  between  Mr.  Beal's 
two  versions ;  and  the  notes,  which  are  largely  devoted  to 
incisive  criticisms  on  the  early  work  of  Mr.  13eal,  contain  little 
to  help  the  reader  who  desires  to  study  the  pilgrim's  observations 
from  an  Indian  point  of  view.  But  Mr.  Giles's  scarce  little 
volume  is  of  value  as  an  independent  rendering  of  the  difficult 
Chinese  text  by  a  highly  qualified  linguist.  Certain  errors  in 
his  work  were  corrected  by  Watters  in  his  articles  '  Fa-hsien 
and  his  English  Translators',  in  the  China  Review,  vol.  viii. 

The  latest  translation,  that  of  Dr.  Legge  (Oxford,  Clarendon 
Press,  1886),  is  on  the  Avhole  the  most  serviceable  ;  the  author 
having  had  the  advantage  of  using  his  predecessors'  labours. 
The  notes,  however,  leave  much  to  be  desired.  The  final 
translation  of  Fa-hien's  Travels,  equipped  with  an  up-to-date 
commentary  adequately  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  both 
Chinese  and  Indian  scholarship,  has  not  yet  appeared  ;  and  the 
production  of  such  a  work  by  a  single  writer  is  almost  impos- 
sible. 

The  proper  spelling  of  Hiuen  Tsang's  name  has  been  the 
subject  of  considerable  discussion ;  and  the  variation  in  practice 
has  been,  and  still  is,  very  great. ^ 

The  question  may  be  considered  as  settled,  so  far  as  such 
matters  can  be  settled,  by  the  ruling  of  Professor  Chavannes 
that  '  deux  orthographes  sont  admissibles  ;  ou  bien  I'orthographe 
scientifique  Hiueii-Tsang,  ou  bien  I'orthographe  conforme  a  la 
prononciation  pekinoise  Hiuen-tclwa?ig  [^-chfvmig  in  English]  '.^ 
It  must,  of  course,  be  remembered  that  to  a  French  reader  the 
initial  H  is  in  practice  silent.  Professor  de  Lacouperie  also 
held  that  Hiuen  Tsang  was  the  best  mode  of  spelling  the  name, 
and  I  have  therefore  adopted  it.  Mr.  Beal's  spelling,  Hiuen 
Tsiang,  which  his  books  have  made  more  or  less  familiar  to 
English  readers,  is  nearly  the  same. 

M.  Stanislas  Julien's  great  work,  which  included  a  French 
version  of  both  the  Life  and  Travels  of  Hiuen  Tsang  (3  vols., 
Paris,  1853-8),  has  never  been  superseded;  but  it  is  now  very 
scarce  and  difficult  to  obtain.  Mr.  Beal's  English  version  of  the 
Ti-avels  appeared  in  188.5  in  the  volumes  already  cited;  and 
was  followed  in  1888  by  a  translation  of  the  Life.  The  notes 
were  supplied  to  a  large  extent  by  Dr.  Burgess.  The  student 
of  Indian  history  finds  himself  compelled  sometimes  to  consult 
both  the  French  and  English  versions.  The  commentary  in 
both  is  now  out  of  date ;  but  the  deficiencies  have  been  sup- 
plied in  considerable  measure  by  a  work  compiled  by  the  late 


'  Hiouen  Thsang  (Julien  and 
Wade),  Huan  Chwang  (Mayers), 
Yu6n  Chwiing  (Wylie  ,  Hiuen 
Tsiang  (Beal),  Hsiian  Chwang 
(Legge),   Hhiien   AVan   (Nanjio), 


Yiian  Chwang  (Rhys  Davids).  This 
list  (./.  R.  A.  S.,  1892,  p.  387)  might 
be  extended.     See  Watters,  i,  6. 

^  Religkux    iminents.  Addenda, 
p.  202. 


CHINESE  PILGRIMS  25 

Mr.  Walters,  entitled  On  Yuan  Chwangs  Travels  in  India  (R.  As. 
Soc,  1904-5,  2  vols.).  An  adequate  annotated  translation  of 
the  Life  and  Travels  of  Hiuen  Tsan^  would  require  the  co-opera- 
tion of  a  syndicate  of  scholars.  The  first  draft  of  his  book,  the 
Ta  Tang-Hsi-y'u-chi,  '  Records  of  Western  Lands  of  the  Great 
Tang  Period,'  was  presented  to  the  Emperor  in  646,  but  the 
book,  as  we  have  it  now,  was  not  completed  until  648.  It  was 
apparently  copied  and  circulated  in  MS.  in  its  early  form  during 
the  author's  life,  and  for  some  time  after.  There  are  several 
editions,  which  present  considerable  variations  in  both  the  text 
and  the  supplementary  notes  and  explanations.  The  'Han-shan  ' 
recension,  which  seems  to  be  the  only  one  hitherto  known  to 
Western  scholars,  is  substantially  a  modern  Soochow  reprint  of 
an  edition  of  the  Ming  period.  Three  other  editions  were  con- 
sulted by  Mr.  Watters,  who  has  noted  the  more  important 
variant  readings  (0«  Yuan  Chirang,  ch.  1).  The  pilgrim's  route 
can  be  traced  by  the  help  of  the  Itinerary  and  maps  added  by 
the  author  of  this  history  to  the  second  volume  of  Mr.  Watters's 
book. 

Students  should  not  forget  the  fact  that  Bks.  (ckuan)  x,  xi,  and  Inferior 
xii  of  Hiuen  Tsang's  Travels  are  far  inferior  in  authority  to  the  authority- 
earlier  books.  Mr.  Watters's  observations  are  as  follows : —  x-xii^'^ 
'  According  to  the  Records  the  pilgrim  proceeded  from  Malakuta 
to  Seng-ka-lo  or  Ceylon,  but  the  Life  represents  him  as  merely 
hearing  of  that  country.  If  we  had  only  the  liecords  we  should 
be  at  liberty  to  believe  that  he  proceeded  to  Ceylon,  and  re- 
turned thence  to  Dravida.  But  it  is  perhaps  better  to  regard 
him  as  writing  about  Malakuta  and  Ceylon  from  information 
given  to  him  in  Dravida,  and  from  books.  There  seems  to  be 
much  in  Chuan  x  and  xi  that  is  not  genuine,  and  it  may  be 
observed  that  in  certain  old  texts  like  C  these  two  chuan  are 
given  without  mention  of  Pien-chi  as  compiler.  They  are  also, 
together  with  Chuan  xii,  marked  by  the  character  yi,  meaning 
doubtful.  It  does  not  seem,  therefore,  to  be  necessary  to  dwell 
much  on  the  curious  legends  and  descriptions  given  in  this  part 
of  the  Records  '  (vol.  II,  p.  233). 

The  small  work  descriptive  of  the  mission  of  Song-yun  and  Song-yun 
Hwei-Sang,  early  in  the  sixth  century,  has  been  translated  by  |"^ 
Mr.    Beal    in    the   first   volume  of  Records.     A  revised  critical     "  °"^* 
translation  in  French,  fully  annotated,  has  been  published  by 
M.  Chavannes  ^ 

The  itinerary  of  U-k'ong  (Ou-k'ong),  who  travelled   in  the 

*   Voyage    de    Song     Yun    dans  ing   Che-raong   (Tche-mong),   who 

VUdydna  et   le   Ganilhdra   (518-22  quitted  China  in  a.  d.  404  only  five 

p.  C),  m  Bull,  de  VEcole  Fr.  d'Ex-  years  later  than  Fa-hien   (p.  53); 

treme-Orient  (Hanoi,    1903).     This  and  Fa-yong,  who  started  in  a.  d. 

excellent  work  contains  notices  of  420, 
many  other  early  pilgrims,  includ- 


26  SOURCES  OF  INDIAN  HISTORY 

eighth  century,  has  been  translated  by  Messrs.  Sylvain  Levi  and 
Chavannes.^ 
Sixty  The  latter  scholar  has  published  (Paris,  1894')  an  admirably 

pilgrims  in  edited    version  of  a  work   by    I-tsing    (Yi-tsing),  entitled    Les 
seventh       Religieux  eminent s  qui  aUcrent  chercher  la  loi  dans  les  pays  d' Occident, 
^ '     which  gives  an  account  of  no  less  than  sixty  Chinese  Buddhist 
pilgrims  who  visited   India  in   the  latter  half  of  the  seventh 
century. 
I-tsing.  I-tsing,  who  died  in  a.d.  713,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine,  was 

himself  a  pilgrim  of  no  small  distinction.  'This  great  monk, 
no  less  famous  in  the  Buddhist  world  of  China  than  Hiuen 
Thsang  with  whom  we  are  more  familiar,  was  pre-eminently 
a  scholar  and  the  best  Sanskritist  amongst  the  Chinese  pilgrims 
Avhose  writings  have  yet  reached  us.  His  stay  at  the  centres  of 
learning  in  the  Hindu  colonies  of  Sumatra,  and  ten  years'  study 
at  the  university  of  Nalanda  under  the  greatest  professors  of  the 
time,  gave  him  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  methods  of  the 
teaching  of  Sanskrit  and  the  complete  curriculum  in  vogue  in 
those  days,  and  enabled  him  to  describe  them  in  faithful  detail. 
The  unique  treatment  of  the  subject  forms  the  thirty-fifth  chapter 
of  The  Records  of  Buddhist  Practices  in  India.'  ^  His  interesting 
work,  A  Record  of  the  Buddhist  Religion  as  Practised  in  India  and 
the  Malay  Archipelago  (a.d.  671— 95),  has  been  skilfully  translated 
by  Dr.  J.  Takakusu  (Oxford,  Clarendon  Press,  1896).  This  book, 
while  invaluable  for  the  history  of  Buddhism  and  Sanskrit  litera- 
ture, contributes  little  to  the  materials  for  political  history. 

1  Journal  Asiatique,  1895. 

2  J.  and  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  1911,  p.  309, 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   DYNASTIES   BEFORE  ALEXANDER 
600  B.C.  TO  326  ij.c. 

The  political  history  of  India  begins  for  an  orthodox  History 
Hindu  more  than  three  thousand  years  before  the  Christian  """t*^"  "V 
era  with  the  famous  war  waged  on  the  banks  of  the  Jumna,  logy. 
between  the  sons  of  Kuru  and  the  sons  of  Pandu,  as  related  in 
the  vast  epic  known  as  the  Mahabharata.^  But  the  modern 
critic  fails  to  find  sober  history  in  bardic  tales,  and  is  con- 
strained to  travel  down  the  stream  of  time  much  farther  before 
he  comes  to  an  anchorage  of  solid  fact.  In  order  to  be  avail- 
able for  the  purpose  of  history,  events  must  be  susceptible  of 
arrangement  in  definite  chronological  order,  and  capable  of 
being  dated  approximately,  if  not  exactly.  Facts  to  which 
dates  cannot  be  assigned,  although  they  may  be  invaluable  for 
the  purposes  of  ethnology,  philology,  and  other  sciences,  are 
of  no  use  to  the  historian.  Modern  research  has  brought  to 
light  innumerable  facts  of  the  highest  scientific  value  concern- 
ing prehistoric  India,  but  the  impossibility  of  assigning  dates 
to  the  phenomena  discovered  excludes  them  from  the  domain 
of  the  historian,  whose  vision  cannot  pass  the  line  which  sepa- 
rates the  dated  from  the  undated. 

That  line,  in  the  case  of  India,  may  be  drawn,  at  the  Beginning 
earliest,  through  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  B.C.;  «i  "al  ^riod 
period  of  progress,  marked  by  the  development  of  maritime 
commerce,  and  probably  by  the  diffusion  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  art  of  writing.  Up  to  about  that  time  the  inhabitants  of 
India,  even  the  most  intellectual  races,  seem  to  have  been 
generally  ignorant  of  the  art  of  writing,  and  to  have  been 

*  The   epoch   of   the    Kaliyuga,  more  than  six  centuries  later  (Cun- 

3102  B.  c,  is  usually  identified  with  ninghani,  Indian  Eras,  pp.  6-13). 

the  era  of  Yudhishthira,  and  the  See  Fleet,  /.  R.A.S.,19U,  p.  675; 

date  of  the  Mahabharata  war.    But  and  R.  Shamasastry,  GavCim  Ayana 

certain  astronomers  date  the  war  (Mysore,  1908). 


28      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

obliged  to  trust  to  highly  trained  memory  for  the  transmission 
of  knowledge.^ 
Sixteen  In  those  days  vast  territories  were  still  covered  by  forest, 

N*  hidia  ^^^^  liome  of  countless  wild  beasts  and  scanty  tribes  of  savage 
men  ;  while  regions  of  great  extent  in  Northern  India  had 
been  occupied  for  untold  centuries  by  more  or  less  civilized 
communities  of  the  higher  races  who,  from  time  to  time, 
during  the  unrecorded  past,  had  pierced  the  mountain  barriers 
of  the  north-western  frontier.  Practically  nothing  is  ascer- 
tained concerning  the  immigration  of  the  possibly  equally 
advanced  Dravidian  races  who  entered  India,  we  know  not 
how,  where,  or  whence,  spread  over  the  plateau  of  the  Deccan, 
and  extended  to  the  extremity  of  the  Peninsula.  Our  slender 
stock  of  knowledge  is  limited  to  the  fortunes  of  the  vigorous 
races,  speaking  an  Aryan  tongue,  who  poured  down  from  the 
mountains  of  the  Hindu  Kush  and  Pamirs,  filling  the  plains 
of  the  Panjab  and  the  upper  basin  of  the  Ganges  with  a 
sturdy  and  quick-witted  population,  unquestionably  superior 
to  the  aboriginal  races  of  those  regions.  The  settled  country 
between  the  Himalaya  mountains  and  the  Narbada  river  was 
divided  into  a  multitude  of  independent  states,  some  mon- 
archies and  some  tribal  republics,  owning  no  allegiance  to 
any  paramount  power,  secluded  from  tiie  outer  world,  and 
free  to  fight  among  themselves.  The  most  ancient  literary 
traditions,  compiled  probably  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century 
B.C.,  but  looking  back  to  an  older  time,  enumerate  sixteen  of 
such  states  or  powers,  extending  from   Gandhara,  on  the 

1  J.  Kennedy,  'The  Early  Com-  Batavia,  1882,  cited  in  J.  R.  A.  S., 

merce  of  India  with  Babylon  ;  700-  1911,  p.  370.     The  art  of  writing 

330  B.C.'  (/.  li.  A.  S.,  1898,  pp.  241-  may  have  been  introduced  by  mer- 

88) ;     Biihler,     '  Indische     Palaeo-  chants  on  the  south-western  coast 

graphic'  {(irundriss  Indo-Ar.  I'hil.  as  early  as  the  eighth  century  n.  c, 

wmi  ^Z<.,  Strassburg,  1898 ;  transl.  or  even    before   that    time.      The 

as   Appendix   to    J7id.    Ant.,    vol.  knowledge  of  the  art  seems  to  have 

xxxiii  (190+) );    'On  the  Origin  of  gradually    spread    to    the    north, 

the  BrJihma  and  KharosthI  Alpha-  where  probably  it  became  widely 

bets'  (two  papers,  in  SUzh.  Aknd.  known  during  the  seventh  century. 

Wiss.    Wien,   189.>;    Hoernle,  'An  But,  of  course,  no  data   exist  for 

Epigraphical    Note   on    Palm-leaf,  accurate  chronology.     So  much  is 

Paper,  and  Birchbark'  {J.  A.  S.  B.,  clear  that  writing  must  have  been 

vol.  Ixix,  part  1,  1900).     I  have  not  known  long  before  the  appearance 

seen    a    Dutch    work    by    Holle,  of  the  earliest  extant  inscriptions 

Oud- en  Nieuw-Indische  Alphabette7i,  in  the  third  century  h.  c. 


RELIGION  AND  HISTORY  29 

extreme  north-west  of  the  Panjah,  comprising  the  modern 
districts  of  Peshawar  and  Rawalpindi,  to  Avanti  or  Malwa, 
with  its  capital  Ujjain,  which  still  retains  its  ancient  name 
unchanged.^ 

The  works  of  ancient  Indian  writers  from  which  our  his-  Religion 
torical  data  are  extracted  do  not  ordinarily  profess  to  be  history, 
histories,  and  are  mostly  religious  treatises  of  various  kinds. 
In  such  compositions  the  religious  element  necessarily  takes 
the  foremost  place,  and  the  secular  affairs  of  the  world 
occupy  a  very  subordinate  position.  The  particulars  of 
political  history  incidentally  recorded  refer  in  consequence 
chiefly  to  the  countries  most  prominent  in  the  development 
of  Indian  religion. 

The  systems  which  we  call   Jainism  and  Buddhism  had  Jainism 
their  roots  in  the   forgotten  speculations  of  the  prehistoric  gjjfjj. 
past ;  but,  as  we  know  them,  were  founded  respectively  by  hism. 
Vardhamana  Mahavira  and  Gautama  Buddha.     Both  these 
philosophers,  who  were  for  many  years  contemporary,  were 
born,  lived,  and  died  in  or  near  the  kingdom  of  Magadha, 
the  modern  South  Bihar.     Mahavira,  the  son  of  a  nobleman  ' 
of  Vaisali,  the  famous  city  north  of  the  Ganges,  was  nearly  re- 
lated to  the  royal  family  of  Magadha,  and  died  at  Pawa,  in  the 
modern  district  of  Patna,  within  the  territory  of  that  kingdom. 

Gautama  Buddha,  although  born  farther  north,  in  the 
Sakya  territory  at  the  foot  of  the  Nepal  hills,^  underwent  his 
most  memorable  spiritual  experiences  at  Bodh  Gaya  in  Ma- 
gadha, and  spent  many  years  of  his  ministry  within  the  limits 
of  that  state.  The  Buddhist  and  Jain  books,  therefore,  tell 
us  much  about  the  Vrijjian  confederacy,  of  which  Vaisali  was 
the  capital,^  and  about  Magadha,  with  its  subordinate  king- 
dom of  Anga  (Bhagalpur). 

^  The  complete  list  will  be  found  other  scholars  can  admit. 
in  Rhys  Davids's  Buddhist  India,  p.  ^  The  Sakya  territory,  to  the 
23.  The  first  two  chapters  of  that  north  of  the  modern  Basti  and 
work  furnish  full  references  to  the  Gorakhpur  Districts,  was  a  de- 
Pali  texts  which  give  information  pendency  of  Kosala.  '  The  Blessed 
about  the  clans  and  states  in  the  One  also  is  of  Kosala'  (Rockhill, 
fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  Professor  Jjife  of  the  Buddha,  p.  114).  See 
Rhys  Davids  is  inclined  to  attri-  also  Jataka  No.  465  (Cambridge 
bute  higher  antiquity  to  the  Pali  transl.,  iv,  9-2). 
Buddhist    scriptures     than     some  s  gagar  or   Basarh   (N.   lat.   25° 


30      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

The  neighbouring  reahn  of  Kosala,  the  modern  kingdom 
of  Oudh,  was  closely  connected  with  Magadha  by  many  ties  ; 
and  its  capital  Sravasti  (Savatthi)^  situated  on  the  upper 
course  of  the  Rapti  near  tlie  foot  of  the  hills,  was  the  reputed 
scene  of  many  of  Buddha's  most  striking  discourses.^ 

In  the  sixth  century  B.C.  Kosala  appears  to  have  occupied 
the  rank  afterwards  attained  by  Magadha,  and  to  have 
enjoyed  precedence  as  the  premier  state  of  Upper  India.  It 
is  therefore  mentioned  as  often  as  the  rival  power.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  historical  period,  the  smaller  kingdom  of 
Kasi,  or  Benares,  apparently  had  lost  its  independence,  and 
had  been  annexed  by  Kosala,  with  which  its  fortunes  were 
indissolubly  bound  up.  The  lesser  state  owes  its  fame  in  the 
ancient  books  not  only  to  its  connexion  with  its  powerful 
neighbour,  but  also  to  its  being  one  of  the  most  sacred 
spots  in  Buddhist  church  history,  the  scene  of  Buddha's 
earliest  public  preaching,  where  he  first  '  turned  the  wheel  of 
the  Law '. 

The  reputation  for  special  sanctity  enjoyed  by  both  Benares 
and  Gaya  in  Magadha  among  orthodox  Brahmanical  Hindus 
adds  little  to  the  detailed  information  available,  which  is 
mainly  derived  from  the  writings  of  Jains  and  Buddhists, 
who  were  esteemed  as  heretics  by  the  worshippers  of  the  old 
gods.  But  the  Brahmanical  Puranas,  compiled  centuries 
later  in  honour  of  the  orthodox  deities,^  liappily  include  lists 

59',  E.  long.  85^'  8'  ,  and  the  neigh-  Tsang,  who  indicate  a  site  higher 

bouring  village  of  Bakhira,  in  the  up  the  course  of  the  Rapti  in  Nepal, 

District   of   Muzaffarpur,   situated  as   formerly  advocated   by  me  in 

about  27  miles  a  little  west  of  north  ./.  li.  A.  S.,  1898,  pp.  502-31,  with 

from  Patna,  undoubtedly  represent  map,  and  ibid.,  1900,  pp.  1-24,     I 

the  ancient  Vaisali  (V.  A.  Smith,  cannot  bring  myself  to  accept  the 

'  Vaisah,' ./.  Ji.  A.  S.,  1902,  pp.  267-  supposed  error  in  both  pilgrim's  ac- 

88).     See  Dr.  Bloch's  '  Excavations  counts  without  some  explanation, 

at  Basarh',   Archaeol.    S.   Annual  The    statement   that   four  .villages 

7?*D.,  1903-4,  pp.  81-122.  known  to  have  been  near  Sravasti 

^  It  is  difficult  to  resist  the  new  can  be  identified  with  four  villages 

evidence, in  favour  of  the  identifica-  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 

tion  of  bravasti  with  the  ruins  at  Sahcth-Maheth   needs  to    be    sup- 

Saheth-maheth  in  Northern  Oudh,  ported  in  detail, 
on  the  boundary  of  the  Gonda  and  '■'  The  oldest  of  the  Puranas,  the 

Bahraich  Districts,  which  is  sum-  Matsya,   probably   dates  from  the 

marized    in   J.li.A.S.,    1909,    pp.  third   century   after    Christ   in    its 

1066-8;  but  the  fact  remains  tliat  present  form,  and  the  Vayu  from 

the  site  does   not  agree  with  the  the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century, 
itineraries  of  Fa-hien   and   liiuen 


BIMBISARA  31 

of  the  Buddhist  and  other  kings  of  Magadha^  which  had 
become,  before  the  time  of  their  compilation,  the  recognized 
centre  both  religious  and  political  of  India;  and  so  it  happens 
that  the  Jain,  Buddhist,  and  Brahmanical  books  combined 
tell  us  much  about  the  history  of  Magadha,  Anga,  Kosala, 
Kasi,  and  Vaisilli,  while  they  leave  us  in  the  dark  concerning 
the  fortunes  of  most  other  parts  of  India. 

In  the  Puranic  lists  the  earliest  dynasty  which  can  claim  Sai^unaga 
historical  reality  is  that  known  as  tiie  Saisunaga,  from  the    ^"^^  ^' 
name  of  its  founder  Sisunaga. 

He  was,  apparently,  the  king,  or  Raja,  of  a  petty  state,  c  600  b. c. 
corresponding  roughly  with  the  present  Patna  and  Gaya 
Districts;  his  capital  being  Rajagriha  (Rajgir),  among  the 
hills  near  Gaya.  Nothing  is  known  about  his  history,  except 
the  statement  that  he  placed  his  son  in  Benares,  and  himself 
took  up  his  abode  at  Girivraja  near  Rajagriha.  The  second, 
third,  and  fourth  kings,  likewise,  are  mere  names. 

The  first  monarch  about  whom  anything  substantial  is  Bimbisara 
known  is  Bimbisara,  or  Srenika,  the  fifth  of  his  line.  He  is  '"•  ^'^' 
credited  with  the  building  of  New  Rajagriha,  the  outer  town 
to  the  north  of  the  ring  of  hills  encircling  the  ancient  fort ; 
and  with  the  annexation  of  Anga,  the  small  kingdom  to  the 
east,  corresponding  with  the  modern  district  of  Bhagalpur, 
and  probably  including  Monghyr  (Mungir).^  The  annexa- 
tion of  Anga  was  the  first  step  taken  by  the  kingdom  of 
Magadha  in  its  advance  to  greatness  and  the  position  of 
supremacy  which  it  attained  in  the  following  century ;  so  that 
Bimbisara  may  be  regarded  as  the  real  founder  of  the  Ma- 
gadhan  imperial  power.  He  strengthened  his  position  by 
matrimonial  alliances  with  the  more  powerful  of  the  neigh- 

^  Ja.cohi,l7itrod.,vo\.xxu,S.B.E.  1905-6,  which  gives  references  to 

Rajgir  is  situated  in  N.  lat.  25°  2',  E.  earlier    publications,    and    is    ac- 

long.  85°  26',  about  NE.  from  Gaya,  companied  by  a  good  map.     But 

and  SSE.  from  Patna.    The  very  an-  the  researches  at  this  most  interest- 

cient  town  within  the  circle  of  hills  ing   spot    amount  only  to   a  pre- 

is  believed  to  have  been  founded  by  liminary  reconnaissance.  Thorough 

the  mythical  king,  Jarasandha,  and  exploration  would  require  the  work 

was  also  known  as  Ku^agarapura.  of  several  seasons.     Very  little  has 

The  most  trustworthy  account  of  the  been  done  yet  to  reveal  the  secrets 

extensive  site  is  that  by  D.  J.  H.  of  the  most  ancient  sites  in  India. 
Marshall  in  Ann.  Rep.  A,  S.  India, 


S2      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

bouring  states,  taking  one  consort  from  the  royal  family  of 
Kosala,  and  another  from  the  influential  Lichchhavi  clan  at 
Vaisali.^  The  latter  lady  was  the  mother  of  Ajatasatru, 
also  called  Kunika,  or  Kuniya,  the  son  who  was  selected 
as  heir-apparent  and  crown  prince.  If  our  authorities  may 
be  believed,  the  reign  of  Bimbisara  lasted  for  twenty- 
eight  years ;  and  it  is  said  that,  towards  its  close,  he  resigned 
the  royal  power  into  the  hands  of  his  favourite  son,  and 
retired  into  private  life.  But  the  young  prince  was  impatient, 
and  could  not  bear  to  await  the  slow  process  of  nature. 
Well-attested  testimony  brands  him  as  a  parricide,  and 
accuses  him  of  having  done  his  father  to  death  by  the  agonies 
of  starvation. 
Deva-  Orthodox    Buddhist    tradition    affirms   that    this    hideous 

datta.  crime  was  instigated  by  Devadatta,  Buddha^s  cousin,  who 
figures  in  the  legends  as  a  malignant  plotter  and  wicked 
schismatic;^  but  ecclesiastical  rancour  may  be  suspected  of 
the  responsibility  for  this  accusation.  Devadatta  certainly 
refused  to  accept  the  teaching  of  Gautama,  and,  preferring 
that  of  ^  the  former  Buddhas ',  became  the  founder  and  head 
of  a  rival  sect,  which  still  survived  in  the  seventh  century 
after  Christ,^ 

Schism  has  always  been  esteemed  by  the  orthodox  a  deadly 

^  The  Lichchhavis  occupy  a  pro-  monasteries    of    Devadatta's    sect 

minent  place  in  the  Buddhist  ec-  in     Karnasuvarna,    Bengal     (Beal, 

clesiastical    legends.      The    Jains  liecordu,   ii,    201  ;     Life,    p.    131), 

spell  the  name  as  Lechchhaki  (Pra-  Detailed   legends  concernig  Deva- 

krit,  Lechchhal)  ( Jacobi,   S.  B.  E.,  datta   will   be  found   in  Rockhill's 

xxii,  266).     For  the  Tibetan  affini-  Life  of  the  Buddha  (see  Index),  and 

ties  of  the  Lichchhavis  see /nrf.^lwi.,  the  disciplinary  rules  of  his  order 

1903,  p.  233.  on  p.  87  of  that  work.     The  fact 

*  Ithvs  Davids,  Buddhist  India,  that  Asoka  twice  repaired  the  «^%a 

p.  14;  lioiikhxW,  Life  of  the  Buddha,  of   Kanakamuni,  one  of  'the  pre- 

pp.  90,  94,  from  Tibetan  sources.  vious    Buddhas  ',   proves    that    re- 

^  These   heretics   were   seen   by  verence   for  those   saints   was   not 

Fa-hien    at   IsravastI    in   or   about  incompatible  with  devotion  to  the 

A.  D.    40.5.     '  There   are   also   com-  teaching  of  their  successor,  Gau- 

panies  of  the   followers  of  Deva-  tama  (^Nigliva  Pillar  inscription,  in 

datta   still   existing.      They   regu-  Asoka,    the    Jyuddhint   Emperor   of 

larly  make  oiferings   to  the  three  /«/i/«,  2nd.  ed.,  p.  200).    Very  little 

previous     Buddhas,     but     not    to  is  known  about  the  teaching  of  *  the 

Sakyamuni    [scil.    Gautama]    Bud"  previous  Buddhas  '.    Three  of  them 

dha'  {Tracels,  ch.  xxii,  in  Legge's  seem   to  have   been   real   persons, 

version.     All  the  versions  agree  as  namely,     Krakuchanda,     Kanaka- 

to  the  fact).     In  the  seventh  cen-  muui,  and  Kasyapa. 
tury    Hiucn    Tsang    found    three 


MAHAVIRA  AND  BUDDHA  33 

sin,  and  in  all  ages  the  unsuceessful  heretic  has  been  branded  ' 

as  a  villain  by  the  winning  sect.  Such,  probably,  is  tlie 
origin  of  the  numerous  tales  concerning  the  villanies  of 
Devadatta,  including  the  supposed  incitement  of  his  princely 
patron  to  commit  the  crime  of  parricide. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  both  Vardhamana  Maha- 
vira,  the  founder  of  the  system  known  as  Jainism,  and 
Gautama,  the  last  Buddha,  the  founder  of  Buddhism  as 
known  to  later  ages,  were  preaching  in  Magadha  during  the 
reign  of  Bimbisara,  although  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  tradi- 
tional dates. 

The  Jain  saint,  who  was  a  near  relative  of  Bimbisara's  Death  of 
queen,   the   mother  of   Ajatasatru,    probably    passed    away  ^^^  ^^"^ 
towards  the  close  of  Bimbisara's  reign ;   while  the  death  of  Buddha. 
Gautama  Buddha  occurred  in  the  early  years  of  the  reign  of 
Ajatasatru,  not  much  later.     There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  latter  event  took  place  in  or  about  the  year  487  b.c.^ 

Gautama  Buddha  was  certainly  an  old  man  when  Ajata-  Interview 
satru,  or  Kunika,  as  the  Jains  call  him,  came  to  the  throne  ^i^^  Aja- 
about  502  or  500  b.c.  ;  and  he  had  at  least  one  interview  with  ta^atru. 
that  king. 

One  of  the  most  ancient  Buddhist  documents  narrates  in 
detail  the  story  of  a  visit  paid  to  Buddha  by  Ajatasatru,  who 
is  alleged  to  have  expressed  remorse  for  his  crime,  and  to 
have  professed  his  faith  in  Buddha,  who  accepted  his  con- 
fession of  sin.  The  concluding  passage  of  the  tale  may  be 
quoted  as  an  illustration  of  an  ancient  Buddhist  view  of  the 
relations  between  Church  and  State. 

*And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  Ajatasatru  the  king  said 
to  the  Blessed  One  :  "  Most  excellent.  Lord,  most  excellent ! 
Just  as  if  a  man  were  to  set  up  that  which  has  been  thrown 
down,  or  were  to  reveal  that  which  is  hidden  away,  or  were 
to  point  out  the  right  road  to  him  who  has  gone  astray,  or 
were  to  bring  a  lamp  into  the  darkness  so  that  those  who 
have  eyes  could  see  external  forms — just  even  so.  Lord,  has 
the  truth  been  made  known  to  me,  in  many  a  figure,  by  the 
Blessed  One.     And  now  I  betake  myself.  Lord,  to  the  Blessed 

^  For  the  uncertain  chronology,  see  Appendix  C  at  the  end  of  this 
chapter. 

1626  D 


34      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

One  as  my  refuge,  to  the  Truth,  and  to  the  Order.  May 
the  Blessed  One  accept  me  as  a  disciple,  as  one  who,  from 
this  day  forth,  as  long  as  life  endures,  has  taken  his  refuge  in 
them.  Sin  has  overcome  me.  Lord,  weak  and  foolish  and 
wrong  that  I  am,  in  that  for  the  sake  of  sovranty,  I  put  to 
death  my  father,  that  righteous  man,  that  righteous  king ! 
May  the  Blessed  One  accept  it  of  me.  Lord,  that  I  do  so 
acknowledge  it  as  a  sin,  to  the  end  that  in  future  I  may 
restrain  myself.'^ 

<  "  Verily,  O  king,  it  was  sin  that  overcame  you  in  acting 
thus.  But  inasmuch  as  you  look  upon  it  as  sin,  and  confess 
it  according  to  what  is  right,  we  accept  your  confession  as  to 
that. 

*  "  For  that,  O  king,  is  custom  in  the  discipline  of  the 
noble  ones,  that  whosoever  looks  upon  his  fault  as  a  fault, 
and  rightfully  confesses  it,  shall  attain  to  self-restraint  in 
future.^' 

^When  he  had  thus  spoken,  Ajatasatru  the  king  said  to 
the  Blessed  One,  "  Now,  Lord,  we  would  fain  go.  We  are 
busy,  and  there  is  much  to  do.'-* 

'  "  Do,  O  king,  Avhatever  seemeth  to  thee  fit.^^ 

'Then  Ajatasatru  the  king,  pleased  and  delighted  with 
the  words  of  the  Blessed  One,  arose  from  his  seat,  and  bowed 
to  the  Blessed  One,  and  keeping  him  on  the  right  hand  as  he 
passed  him,  departed  thence. 

'Now  the  Blessed  One, not  long  after  Ajatasatru  the  king 
had  gone,  addressed  the  brethren,  and  said :  "  This  king, 
brethren,  was  deeply  affected,  he  was  touched  in  heart.  If, 
brethren,  the  king  had  not  put  his  father  to  death,  that 
righteous  man,  and  righteous  king,  then  would  the  clear  and 
spotless  eye  for  the  truth  have  arisen  in  him,  even  as  he  sat 
here." 

'  Thus  spake  the  Blessed  One.  The  brethren  were  pleased 
and  delighted  at  his  words.^  ^ 

Comment.      It  is  difficult  to  sympathize  with  the  pleasure  and  delight 
of  the  brethren.     The  stern  and  fearless  reprobation  of  a 

^  Translated  from  the  SCimanria-  of  the  Sutra  is  translated  by  Rock- 

j;/iaia<SM<ra,  by  Prof.  Rhys  Davids  in  hill  {Life,  p.  95,  foil.).     The  visit 

JMaloyues  of  the  Buddha,  1899,  p.  94.  is  depicted  in  a  bas-relief  from  the 

I  have  used  the  ordinary  spelling  #<r/;>aof  Barhut(Bharhut,  Bharaut), 

Ajatasatru   instead  of  A^^atasrattu,  executed  probably  about  '200  h.  c. 

as   in  the  JJialogues.     Throughout  (Cunningham,  Stiipa  of  Bharhutf 

this  work  the  Sanskrit  forms  are  pi.    xvi ;    Rhys    Davids,   Buddhist 

generally  employed  for  the  sake  of  India,  p.  14-,  fig.  2). 
uniformity.     The  Tibetan  version 


WAR  WITH  KOSALA  35 

deed  of  exceptional  atrocity  which  we  should  expect  from 
a  great  moral  teacher  is  wliolly  wanting  in  Buddha's  words, 
and  is  poorly  compensated  for  by  the  politeness  of  a  courtier. 
Whatever  be  the  reader's  judgement  concerning  the  sincerity 
of  the  royal  penitent,  or  the  moral  courage  of  his  father 
confessor,  it  seems  to  be  clear  from  the  unanimity  of 
Buddhist  tradition  that  the  crime  on  which  the  story  is  based 
really  occurred,  and  that  Ajiitasatru  slew  his  father  to  gain 
a  throne.  But  when  the  Ceylonese  chronicler  asks  us  to 
believe  that  he  was  followed  in  due  course  by  four  other 
parricide  kings,  of  whom  the  last  was  dethroned  by  his 
minister,  with  the  approval  of  a  justly  indignant  people,  it  is 
difficult  to  accept  the  statement  as  true,  although  the  history 
of  Parthia  presents  a  nearly  exact  parallel  in  the  succession 
of  three  parricide  monarchs.^ 

The  crime  by  which  he  won  the  throne  naturally  involved  War  with 
Ajatasatru  in  war  with  the  aged  king  of  Kosala,  whose  ^°s*'^- 
sister,  the  queen  of  the  murdered  Bimbisara,  is  alleged  to 
have  died  from  grief.  Fortune  in  the  contest  inclined,  now 
to  one  side,  and  now  to  another;  and  on  one  occasion,  it  is 
said,  Ajatasatru  was  carried  away  as  a  prisoner  in  chains  to 
his  opponent's  capital.  Ultimately  peace  was  concluded,  and 
a  princess  of  Kosala  was  given  in  marriage  to  the  king  of 
Magadha.  The  facts  of  the  struggle  are  obscure,  being 
wrapped  up  in  legendary  matter  from  which  it  is  impossible  to 
disentangle  them ;  but  the  probability  is  that  Ajatasatru  won 
for  Magadha  a  decided  preponderance  over  its  neighbour  of 
Kosala.  It  is  certain  that  the  latter  kingdom  is  not  again 
mentioned  as  an  independent  power,  and  that  in  the  fourth 
century  b.c.  it  formed  an  integral  part  of  the  Magadhan 
empire. 

The  ambition  of  Ajatasatru,  not  satisfied  with  the  humilia-  Conquest 
tion  of  Kosala,  next  induced  him  to  undertake  the  conquest 

'  Mahdvamki.  ch.  iv.  The  Par-  with  having  '  ruled  the  country  for 
thian  kings  were  Orodes,  Phraates  eighty  years  according  to  the  laws 
IV,  and  Phraates  V  (Von  Gut-  of  his  father',  who  is  represented 
schmid,  Oeschichte  Irans,  p.  116).  as  having  been  a  devout  Jain,  re- 
Local  Jain  tradition  in  South  Bihar  sponsible  for  many  buildings  at 
ignores  the  accusation  of  parricide,  Bhagalpur  and  elsewhere  {Ind, 
and  credits  Kunika  or  Ajatasatru  Ant.,  xxxi  (190:2),  p.  71). 

D  2 


36      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 


Founda- 
tion of 
Pritali- 
putra. 


Massacre 
of  the 
fsakyas. 


of  the  country  to  the  north  of  the  Ganges^  now  known  as 
Tirhut^  in  which  the  Lichchhavi  chin,  famous  in  Buddhist 
legend,  and  probably  of  Tibetan  origin,  then  occupied  a 
prominent  position.  The  invasion  was  successful ;  the 
Lichchhavi  capital,  Vaisali,  M'as  occupied,  and  Ajatasatru 
became  master  of  his  maternal  grandfather's  territory.^  It 
may  be  presumed  that  the  invader  carried  his  victorious  arms 
to  their  natural  limit,  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  that 
from  this  time  the  whole  region  between  the  Ganges  and  the 
Himalaya  became  subject,  more  or  less  directly,  to  the 
suzerainty  of  Magadha. 

The  victor  erected  a  fortress  at  the  village  of  Patali  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Son  near  its  confluence  ^nth  the  Ganges 
to  curb  his  Lichchhavi  opponents.  The  foundations  of  a  city 
nestling  under  the  shelter  of  the  fort^-ess  were  laid  by  his 
grandson  Udaya.  The  city  so  founded,  including  settlements 
of  various  ages,  not  precisely  on  one  site,  was  known 
variously  as  Kusumapura,  Pushpajiura,  or  Pataliputra,  and 
rapidly  developed  in  size  and  magnificence ;  until,  under  the 
Maurya  dynasty,  it  became  the  capital,  not  only  of  Magadha, 
but  of  India.^ 

Buddha,  as  has  been  mentioned  above,  died  in  the  reign  of 
Ajatasatru,  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  reign,  according  to  the 
Mahavamsa^  which  cannot  be  relied  on  for  details.^  Shortl)'^ 
before    his    death,   Kapilavastu,    his    ancestral    home,   was 


'  According  to  the  Jains,  the 
mother  of  Ajatasatru  was  Chellana, 
daughter  of  Chetaka,  Raja  of 
Vaisah  (Jacobi,  Jut  rod.,  H.  B.  E., 
vol.  xxii;.  According  to  the  Tibetan 
Dulva,  she  was  named  Vasavl,  and 
was  the  niece  of  Gopala  (Rockhill, 
Life  of  the  Buddha,  p.  63). 

^The  names  Kusumapura  and 
Pushpapura  are  synonymous,  both 
meaning  '  Flower-town ' ;  /Hitali 
means  *  trumpet-flower  \  Biqnonia 
suaveolens.  The  story  of  the  fortress 
is  told  in  the  Buddhist  '  Book  of 
the  Great  Decease '  {MahCi  pdri- 
nibhdrui  Sutta),  of  which  the 
Tibcbin  version  is  summarized  by 
Rockhill,  op.  cit.,  p.  127.  The 
building  of  the  city  by  Udaya  is 


attested  by  the  Viiyu  Purana. 
Asoka  made  Pataliputra  the  per- 
manent capital  (Hiuen  Tsang,  in 
Beal,  Jiecurds,  ii.  85),  but  it  was 
already  the  royal  residence  in  the 
time  of  his  grandfather,  Chandra- 
gupta,  when  Megasthenes  visited  it. 
The  sites  of  the  capitals  occupied 
by  different  kings  probably  were 
not  quite  identical. 

''The  Tibetan  books  allege  that 
Buddha  died  five  years  after  the 
accession  of  Ajatasatru,  who  reigned 
for  thirty-two  years  (Rockhill,  Life  of 
the  Buddha,  pp.  91,  233).  All  such 
details  are  unreliable,  whether  m 
the  books  of  Ceylon  or  of  other  coun- 
tries. 


PERSIAN  CONQUESTS  37 

captured  by  VirCidhaka,  kini^  of  Kosala,  who  is  alleged  to 
have  perpetrated  a  ferocious  massacre  of  the  Sakya  clan  to 
which  Buddha  belonged.  The  story  is  so  thickly  encrusted 
with  miraculous  legend  that  the  details  of  the  event  cannot 
be  ascertained,  but  the  coating  of  miracle  was  probably 
deposited  upon  a  basis  of  fact,  and  we  may  believe  that  the 
Sakyas  suffered  much  at  the  hands  of  Virudhaka.^ 

If  the  chronology  adopted  in  this  chapter  be  even  approxi-  Persian 
mately  correct,  Bimbisara  and  Ajatasatru  must  be  regarded  '^"^"^^  ^" 
as  the  contemporaries  of  Darius,  the  son  of  Ilystaspes, 
autocrat  of  the  Persian  Empire  from  521  to  485  n.c. 
Darius,  who  was  a  very  capable  ruler,  employed  his  officers 
in  the  exploration  of  a  great  part  of  Asia  by  means  of 
various  expeditions. 

One  of  these  expeditions  was  dispatched  at  some  date  later  c.  500  b.  c. 
than  516  b.c.  to  prove  the  feasibility  of  a  passage  by  sea 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Indus  to  Persia.  The  commander, 
Skylax  of  Karyanda  in  Karia,  managed  somehow  to  equip 
a  squadron  on  the  waters  of  the  Pan  jab  rivers  in  the 
Gandhara  countr}-,  to  make  his  way  down  to  the  ocean,  and 
ultimately,  in  the  thirtieth  month,  to  reach  the  Red  Sea.  The 
particulars  of  his  adventurous  voyage  have  been  lost,  but  we 
know  that  the  information  collected  was  of  such  value  that, 
by  utilizing  it,  Darius  was  enabled  to  annex  the  Indus  valley, 
and  to  send  his  fleets  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  archers 
from  India  formed  a  valuable  element  in  the  army  of  Xerxes, 
and  shared  the  defeat  of  Mardonius  at  Plataea  (479  B.C.). 

The   conquered    provinces    were   formed    into   a  separate  The 
satrapy,  the  twentieth,  which  was  considered  the  richest  and  satrapy. 
most  populous  province  of  the  empire.     It  paid  the  enormous 
tribute  of  360  Euboic  talents  of  gold-dust,  or  185  hundred- 
weights,  worth    fully   a    million    sterling,    and    constituting 
about  one-third  of  the  total  bullion  revenue  of  the  Asiatic 

'The  story  is  in  all  the  books  Antiquities    in    the    Tardi,    Nepal 

about    Buddhism.     Rhys    Davids  (Calcutta,    1901,    being   vol.    xxvi, 

{Buddhist  India,  \>-  11)  gives  refer-  part    1,  of  Archaeol.  Survey  Rep., 

ences  to  the  Pali  authorities.     For  Imp.  Series), a.nAHastin^s's  Encycl. 

the  site  and  remains  of  Kapilavastu,  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  s.  v. 
see  Mukherji  and  V.   A.  Smith, 


38      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 


dr.  475 
B.  c. 
Darsaka. 


provinces.  Although  the  exact  limits  of  the  Indian  satrapy 
cannot  be  determined^  we  know  that  it  was  distinct  from 
Aria  (Herat),  Arachosia  (Kandahar),  and  Gandaria  (North- 
western Pan  jab).  It  must  have  comprised,  therefore,  the 
course  of  the  Indus  from  Kalabagh  to  the  sea,  including  the 
whole  of  Sind,  and  perhaps  included  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  Panjab  east  of  the  Indus.  But  when  Alexander  invaded 
the  country,  nearly  two  centuries  later,  the  Indus  was  the 
boundary  between  the  Persian  empire  and  India,  and  both 
the  Panjab  and  Sind  were  governed  by  numerous  native 
princes.^  In  ancient  times  the  courses  of  the  rivers  were 
quite  different  from  what  they  now  are,  and  vast  tracts  in 
Sind  and  the  Panjab,  now  desolate,  were  then  rich  and 
prosperous.^  This  fact  largely  explains  the  surprising  value 
of  the  tribute  paid  by  the  twentieth  satrapj'. 

When  Ajatasatru's  blood-stained  life  ended  (cir.  475  b.  c), 
he  was  succeeded,  according  to  the  Puranas,  by  a  son  named 
Darsaka,  who  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  his  son  Udaya.^ 


'  Voyage  of  Skylax  (Herod,  iv, 
44).  The  Periplus,  attributed  to 
Skylax  though  really  written  be- 
tween 338  and  335  B.C.,  does  not 
treat  of  India  (^Miiller,  Geogr.  G-raeci 
Mlnores,  vol.  i,  pp.  xliv,  156-9). 
The  city  of  Kaspatyros  in  the 
Paktyan  land  (JlaKTvCKTi  -yri),  from 
which  Skylax  began  his  voyage,  is 
called  Kaspapyros,  a  city  of  the 
Gandharians,  by  Hekataios.  The 
site  cannot  be  identified,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  which  form  of  the 
name  is  correct.  Gandhara  was 
the  modern  Peshawar  District  and 
some  adjacent  territory'.  Kaspa- 
tyros, or  Kaspapyros,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  Kashmir,  as  many  writers 
have  supposed  (Stein,  Rajataran- 
ginJ,  trans,  ii.  353).  For  satrapies 
see  Herod,  iii.  88-106,  especially 
94.  The  Euboic  talent  weighed 
57-6  lb.  avoirdupois  ;  360  talents  = 
20,736  lb.,  which,  assuming  silver 
to  be  worth  five  shillings  (quarter 
of  a  sovereign)  an  ounce,  or  £4  per 
lb.,  and  the  ratio  of  silver  to  gold 
to  be  as  13  to  1,  would  be  worth 
£1,078,27-2.  If  the  Euboic  talent 
be  taken  as  equivalent  to  78,  not 
70,   minae,   the    figures    given   by 


Herodotus  will  tally.  360  gold 
talents  =  4,680  talents  of  silver; 
the  total  bullion  revenue  for  the 
Asiatic  provinces  (including  a  small 
part  of  Libya  in  Africa)  was  14,560 
silver  talents  (Cunningham,  Coins 
of  Ancient  India,  pp.  12,  14,  26, 
30). 

India  is  not  included  in  the  list 
of  provinces  in  the  Behistun  in- 
scription of  516  B.C.,  but  is  included 
in  the  lists  in  the  Persepolis  and 
Naksh-i-Rustam  inscriptions.  The 
last-named  record,  inscribed  on  the 
sepulchre  of  Darius,  is  the  fullest 
(Rawlinson,  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p. 
403,  note;  iv,  177,  207). 

For  the  Indian  contingent  in 
Xerxes  army,  clad  in  cotton  gar- 
ments, and  armed  with  cane  bows 
and  iron-tipped  cane  arrows,  see 
Herod,  vii.  65.  The  fact  that  the 
Indian  troops  used  iron  in  480  b.  c. 
is  worth  noting. 

^  Raverty,  *  The  Mihran  of  Sind 
and  its  Tributaries'  {J.  A.  S.  B., 
189-2,  part  1,  esp.  pp.  301,  311,  340, 
361,  375,  377,  435,  489). 

^  The  name  Udaya  has  variant 
forms,  Udayana,  Udaya^va,  &c., 
in    the  Puranas.     The    Buddhists 


KING  DARSAKA  39 

The  Buddhist  hooks  erroneously  omit  the  intermediate  name, 
and  represent  Udaja  as  the  son  and  immediate  successor  of 
Ajatasatru.  The  reality  of  the  existence  of  Darsaka,  as  king 
of  Magadha,  with  his  capital  at  Rajagriha,  is  estahlished  hy 
the  discovery  of  a  play  named  Vdsavadattd,  written  hy 
Bhasa,  perhaps  in  the  third  century  after  Christ,  which 
represents  Darsaka  as  the  contemporary  of  Udayana,  king  of 
Vatsa,  and  Mahasena,  king  of  Avanti,  or  Ujjain.^ 

The  reign  of  Udaya  may  be  assumed  to  have  begun  about  Udaya, 
450  B.C.     The  tradition  that  he  built  Pataliputra,  or  more  ^^"^^q 
accurately,  the  adjoining  town  of  Kusumapura,  is  all  that  is  b.c. 
known  about  him. 

His  successors,  Nandivardhana  and  Mahanandin,  according  ^^-l^  b.  c. 
to  the  Puranic  lists,  are  still  more  shadowy,  mere  nominis 
umbrae,  and  the  long  reigns  attributed  to  them,  of  forty  (or 
forty-two)  and  forty-three  years  respectively,  total  eighty- 
three  or  eighty-five  years,  are  not  likely  to  be  correct. 
Mahanandin,  the  last  of  the  dynasty,  is  said  to  have  had  by 
a  Sudra,  or  low-caste,  woman  a  son  named  Mahapadma 
Nanda,  who  usurped  the  throne,  and  so  established  the 
Nanda  family  or  dynast)^  This  event  may  be  dated  in  or  372  b.c. 
about  372  B.C. 

call  him  Udayi    Bhadda   (Udayi-  a  son  of  Mahasena,  is  represented 

bhadraka),  and   represent  him  as  as  seeking  her  hand  for  his  own  son 

the  son  of  Ajatasatru,  whose  grand-  (Jacobi,  transl.   of  Vdsavndattd  in 

son     he    was,    according    to     the  Intern.  Monatschr.filrWissenschaft, 

Puranas     (MahdvamJa,     ch.      iv ;  March,  1913).     The  discovery  goes 

Dulva,  in  Rockhill,  Life  of  the  Bud-  a  long  way  to  support  the  autho- 

dha,  p.  91 ;  Rhys  Davids,  Dialogues  rity  of  the  Puranic  lists  as  against 

(1899),   p.    68).      The    building   of  the  muddled  account  of  the  Mahd- 

the  city  of  Pataliputra,  or  '  Kusuma-  varh^a,  to  which  Professor  Geiger 

pura,  on  the   south   bank    of  the  does  '  not  hesitate  to  give  the  pre- 

Ganges,   in   his    fourth   year',   by  ference  wholly  and  unreservedly'. 

Udaya  is   asserted   by  the   Vayu  The  learned  Professor  proceeds  to 

Purana.     This  statement  indicates  say  :    '  Again,  in  the  Puranas  yet 

that  kusumapura,  the  oldest  settle-  another  king,  called  Darsaka,  &c., 

ment,   was   on    the    bank   of   the  is  inserted  between  Ajatasatru  and 

Ganges,  at  an  appreciable  distance  Udayin.   That  is  certainly  an  error, 

from  the  later  capital,  Pataliputra,  The  Pali  canon  indubitably  asserts 

on  the  Son.  that  LJdayibhadda  was  the  son  of 

1  The  daughter  of  Mahasena  was  Ajatasatru  and  probably  also   his 

queen   of   king    Udayana,    whose  successor '     (transl.     Mahdvnm.ia, 

realm  of  Vatsa  probably  was  iden-  1912,  pp.  xliv,  xlv).     Many  '  indu- 

tical   with  Kausambi.     PadmavatI  bitable  assertions ',  unfortunately, 

was  sister  of  king  Darsaka,  and  Pra-  are  not  true, 
dyota,  king  of  Avanti,  presumably 


The 
Nandas. 


Greek 
accounts. 


326  B.  c. 


40      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

At  this  point  all  our  authorities  become  unintelligible  and 
incredible.  The  Puranas  treat  the  Nanda  dynasty  as  con- 
sisting of  two  generations  only,  Mahapadnia  (eighty-eight 
years)  and  his  eight  sons  (twelve  years),  of  whom  the  first 
was  named  Sukalpa,  with  variants.^  These  two  generations 
are  supposed  to  have  reigned  for  a  century,  which  is  difficult 
to  believe.  The  Jains,  doing  still  greater  violence  to  reason, 
extend  the  duration  of  the  dynasty  to  155  years,  while  the 
Buddhist  Mahavamsa,  Dipavamsa,  and  Asokavadana  deepen 
the  confusion  by  hopelessly  muddled  and  contradictory 
stories  not  worth  repeating.  Some  powerful  motive  must 
have  existed  for  the  distortion  of  the  history  of  the  so-called 
'  Nine  Nandas '  in  all  forms  of  the  tradition,  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  make  even  a  plausible  guess  at  the  nature  of  that 
motive. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  historians,  who  derived  their 
information  from  either  Megasthenes  or  the  companions  of 
Alexander,  and  thus  rank  as  contemporarj'  witnesses  reported 
at  second-hand,  throw  a  little  light  on  the  real  history. 
When  Alexander  was  stopped  in  his  advance  at  the  Hyphasis 
in  326  B.C.,  he  was  informed  by  a  native  chieftain  named 
Bliagala  or  Bhagela,  whose  statements  were  confirmed  by 
Poros,  that  the  king  of  the  Gangaridae  and  Prasii  nations 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  was  named,  as  nearly  as  the 
Greeks  could  catch  the  unfamiliar  sounds,  Xandrames  or 
Agrammes.  This  monarch  was  said  to  command  a  force  of 
20,000  horse,  200,000  foot,  2,000  chariots,  and  3,000  or 
4,000  elephants.  Inasmuch  as  the  capital  of  the  Prasii 
nation  undoubtedly  was  Pataliputra,  the  reports  made  to 
Alexander  can  have  referred  only  to  the  king  of  Magadha, 
who  must  have  been  one  of  the  Nandas  mentioned  in  native 
tradition. 2     The  reigning  king  was  alleged  to  be  extremely 


^  Some  MSS.  of  the  Puranas 
state  the  length  of  Mahapadma's 
reign  as  twenty-eight  years  only, 
but  apparently  all  assert  that  the 
dynasty  lasted  for  a  hundred  years. 

-  Curtius,  Bk.  ix,ch.  2;  Diodorus, 
Bk.  xvii,  ch.  93.  The  interpretation 
of  the  name  Phegelas  in  the  text 


of  Curtius  as  Bhagala  is  due  to 
M.  vSylvain  Levi  {Journal  As.,  1890, 
p.  239).  The  name  BhagelQ  is  still 
often  heard  in  Northern  India. 
The  names  of  the  Gangaridae  and 
Prasii  arc  corrupted  in  some  texts 
(McCrindle,  Alexander,  notes  C  c 
and  D  d). 


THE  NANDAS  41 

iinpopulur,  owing  to  his  wickedness  and  base  orii^iii.  He 
was,  it  is  said,  the  son  of  a  barber,  who,  having  become  the 
paramour  of  the  queen  of  the  last  legitimate  sovereign,  con- 
trived the  king's  death,  and,  under  pretence  of  acting  as 
guardian  to  his  sons,  got  them  into  his  power,  and  extermi- 
nated the  royal  family.  After  their  extermination  he  begat 
the  son  who  was  reigning  at  the  time  of  Alexander's  cam- 
paign, and  who,  '  more  worthy  of  his  father's  condition  than 
his  own,  was  odious  and  contemptible  to  his  subjects.'  ^ 

This  story  confirms  the  statements  of  the  Puranas  that  the  Indian 
Nanda  dynasty  was  of  ambiguous  origin  and  comprised  only  "*^'tio"s. 
two  generations.    The  oldest  Purana  brands  the  first  Nanda, 
Mahapadma,  as  a  prince,  ^  urged  on  by  prospective  fortune,'  t 

whose  reign  marked  the  end  of  the  Kshatriya,  or  high  born,  a  p)  0 
kings,  and  the  beginning  of  the  rule  of  those  of  low  degree,  ' 
ranking  as  Sudras.  The  Mahavamsa,  when  it  dubs  the  last 
Nanda  by  the  name  of  Dhana  or  ^Riches',  seems  to  hint  at 
an  imputation  of  avariciousness  against  the  first  Nanda  ;  and 
the  Chinese  pilgrim  Hiuen  Tsang  also  refers  to  the  Nanda 
Raja  as  the  reputed  possessor  of  great  wealth.^ 

By  putting  all  the  hints  together  we  may  conclude  with  Summary. 

tolerable  certainty  that  the  Nanda  family  really  was  of  base 

origin,  that  it  acquired  power  by  the  assassination  of  the 

legitimate  king,  and  retained  possession  of  the  throne  for 

two  generations  only.     The   great    military    power   of    the 

usurpers,  as  attested  by  Greek  testimony,  was  the  result  of 

the  conquests   effected   by   Bimbisara  and   Ajatasatru,   and 

presumably  continued  by  their  successors ;  but  the  limits  of 

the  Nanda  dominions  cannot  be  defined,  nor  can  the  dates  of 

the  dynasty  be  determined  with  accuracy.    It  is  quite  certain 

that  the  two  generations   did   not  last  for  a  hundred  and 

fifty-five,  and  improbable  that  they  lasted  for  a  hundred, 

'  Agrammes    (Curtius,    Bk.    ix,  '^  The  five  5<;7/9cw  near  Pataliputra 

ch.  2),  Xandrames  (Diodorus,  Bk.  aseribed  to  Asoka  were  attributed 

xvii,  ch.  93).     All  the  Hindu  and  by    another    tradition    to    Nanda 

Greek   versions   of  the   story  are  Raja,  and  supposed  to  be  his  trea- 

collected  in  H.  H.  Wilson's  Preface  suries   Beal,  ii,  94).     In  the  Mudru- 

to  the  Mudrd-RCikshasa  {Theatre  of  Rakahasa,  Act  I,  Chanakya  speaks 

the  Hindus,  ii,  pp.   129-50).     The  with  contempt  of  the   'avaricious 

tales    in    the     Vrihat  -  Kathd    and  soul '  of  Nanda. 
Mackenzie  MSS.  are  mere  folk-lore. 


42      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

years ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  determine  their  actual  duration.^ 
The  period  of  fifty  years  has  been  assumed  as  being  credible 
and  fitting  into  the  chronological  scheme^  which  does  not 
give  room  for  a  djnasty  lasting  a  century. 
Rise  of  However  mysterious  tlie  Nine  Nandas  may  be — if,  indeed, 

gupta  they  really  were  nine — there  is  no  doubt  that  the  last  of 
Maurj-a.  them  was  deposed  and  slain  by  Chandragupta  Maurya,  who 
seems  to  hnve  been  an  illegitimate  scion  of  the  family.^ 
There  is  no  difficidty  in  believing  the  tradition  that  the 
revolution  in^'olved  the  extermination  of  all  related  to  the 
fallen  monarch,  for  revolutions  in  the  East  are  not  effected 
without  much  shedding  of  blood.  Nor  is  there  any  reason 
to  discredit  the  statements  that  the  usurper  was  attacked  by 
a  confederacy  of  the  northern  powers,  including  Kashmir, 
and  that  the  attack  failed  owing  to  the  Machiavellian  in- 
trigues of  Chandragupta^s  Brahman  adviser,  who  is  variously 
named  Chanakya,  Kautilya,  or  Vishnugupta.  But  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  rely  on  the  details  given  in  our  only  authority, 
a  play  written  centuries  after  the  events  referred  to ;   nor 

'  The  longest  recorded  duration  obscure,  but  the  mention  of  103 
for  two  generations  of  kings  is  found  F^^rs  gives  a  chronological  datum, 
in  the  history  of  Orissa.  Inscrip-  There  is  no  other  date  in  the  in- 
tions  establish  that  Choraganga  scription,  of  which  the  most  trust- 
reigned  from  998  to  1069  Saka,  worthy  account  is  that  by  Prof, 
equivalent  approximately  to  a.d.  Liiders  in  i?/)./nd,x,App.p.  160,in 
1076-1147,  and  that  he  was  sue-  '  List  of  Brahml  Inscriptions.'  He 
ceeded  by  four  sons,  who  reigned  gives  references  to  earher  interpre- 
until  A.D.  1198.  Those  figures  tations  and  comments.  If  we  as- 
givc  about  122  years  for  five  reigns  sume  322  v.  c.  as  the  end  of  the 
and  two  generations  (M.  M.  Cha-  Nanda  dynasty,  the  fifth  year  of 
kravarti,  *  Chronology  of  the  Eastern  Kharavela  would  be  103  years  later, 
Ganga  Kings  of  Orissa,'./.  A.  S.  B.,  namely  219  b.c,  and  his  accession 
part  I,  vol.  Ixxii  (1903).  should   be  placed   about   223   b.c. 

'  Nanda  Raja  is  mentioned  twice  Satakani,  accordingly,  would  have 

in  the  mutilated  Prakrit  inscription  been  reigning  at  that  time, 
at  Udayagiri  of  the  Jain  king  of  Sir  G.  Grierson  informs  me  that 

Kalinga,     named    Siri    Kharavela  the   Nandas   were    reputed  to   be 

Mahamcgha-vahana.     The   record,  bitter  enemies   of  the   Brahmans, 

unfortunately  much  damaged,  is  a  and  that  their  reign  was  therefore 

chronicle  of  the  reign  of  that  mon-  excluded  from  chronological  com- 

arch,  who  in  his  second  year  sent  putation  by  the  poet  Chand  in  the 

a  large  army  to  the  west  without  twelfth  century,  who  used  the  A- 

heeding  Satakani  (i.  e.,  the  Andhra  '•^^riday  without  Nanda ')  form  of 

king),  and  in  his  fifth  year  repaired  ^¥  Y'^rama  era   less  by  nmety  or 

an   aqueduct  which  had  not  been  nmcty-onc  than  the  ordinary  rcckon- 

used  for  103  years  since  the  time  of  !"g-     ^he  word  ;  nanda    seems  to 

the    Nanda   king   or    kings.      The  be  used    as    equivalent   to    'nine 

second  reference  to  the  Nandas  is  ^  J -91). 


CHANDRAGUPTA  MAURYA  43 

would  there  be  any  use  in  recounting  the  wondrous  tales, 
mostly  belonging  to  the  world's  common  stock  of  folk-lore, 
which  have  been  recorded  in  various  books,  and  relate  the 
miracles  attendant  upon  the  birth  and  youth  of  Chandragupta, 
the  first  universal  monarch  of  India. ^ 

His  accession  to  the  throne  of  Magadha  may  be  dated  with  Accession 
practical  certainty  in  322  n.  c.  The  dominions  of  the  Maga-  drairupta 
dha  crown  were  then  extensive,  certainly  including  the  terri- 
tories of  the  nations  called  Prasii  and  Gangaridae  by  the 
Greeks,  and  probably  comprising  at  least  the  kingdoms  of 
Kosala,  Tirhut  or  North  Bihar,  and  Benares,  as  well  as  Anga 
and  Magadha  proper  or  South  Bihar.  Three  or  four  years 
before  the  revolution  at  Pataliputra,  Alexander  had  swept  like 
a  hurricane  through  the  Panjab  and  Sind,  and  it  is  said  that 
Chandragupta,  then  a  youth,  had  met  the  mighty  Macedonian.^ 
Whether  that  anecdote  be  true  or  not,  and  I  see  no  reason 
to  doubt  its  truth,  it  is  certain  that  the  troubles  consequent 
upon  the  death  of  Alexander  in  the  summer  of  323  B.C.  gave 
young  Chandragupta  his  opportunity.  He  assumed  the  com- 
mand of  the  native  revolt  against  the  foreigner,  and  destroyed 
most  of  the  Macedonian  garrisons.  The  language  of  our 
authorities  seems  to  imply  that  the  destruction  of  the  Nanda 
royal  family  preceded  the  attack  on  the  foreign  settlements 

'  The  Mudrd-Rdkshasa  play  gives  en  Nachrichten  zu  fussen  und  sehr 

a  very  interesting  and  detailed  ac-  weit  an  die  urspriingliche  Tradition 

count  of  the  revolution.     Scholars  des  Hofes  heranzureichen  ; '  that  is 

used  to  believe  that  the  play  dates  to  say,  that  the  plot  is  based  on 

from  the  seventh  century  (Rapson,  accurate  information   and  ancient 

/.  jK.  J4.»S.,1900,  p.  535).  Jacobi,ob-  court   tradition   (reprint    from  ^6\ 

serving  that  some  MSS.  substitute  Jahresber.  d.  Schlesischen  Gesellsch. 

the  name  of  Avantivarman  for  that  fur  vaterl.  Cultur,  July,  1908,  p.  29). 

of  Chandragupta,  held  that  it  was  Prof.    Tawney's    remarks    are    in 

performed  before  Avantivarman  of  ./.  R.  A.  S.,  1908,  p.  910. 

Kashmir  on  Dec.   2,  860  {Vienna  ^  Plutarch,    Life   of  Alexander, 

Or.  J.,  vol.  ii  (1888),  p.  212).     But  ch.  Ixii.    The  words  of  Plutarch  are : 

Hillebrandt,  Speyer,  and  Tawney  — 'Androkottos  himself,  who  was 

affirm  it  to  be  much  older,  and  cer-  then  but  a  youth,  saw  Alexander 

tainly  anterior  to  the  earliest  recen-  himself,   and    afterwards   used   to 

sion  of  the  Panchatantra  and  to  declare  that  Alexander  could  easily 

Bhartrihari  who  died  in  a.d.  651.  have  taken  possession  of  the  whole 

It  is  suggested  that  the  play  may  country,  since  the  king  was  hated 

have  been  composed  in  the  time  of  and   despised    by  his  subjects  for 

Chandra-gupta  II,  about  a.d.  400.  the  wickedness  of  his  disposition 

I  agree  with  Prof.  Hillebrandt  that  and  the   meanness   of   his    origin' 

the  author  '  scheint  auf  sehr  genau-  (McCrindle's  transl.). 


44      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 

in  the  basin  of  the  Indus.  Tlie  revolution  was  not  com- 
pleted in  a  moment,  it  being  clear  that  the  various  stages 
occupied  at  least  a  year.  When  all  opposition  had  been 
crushed  by  force  or  circumvented  by  guile,  Chandragupta, 
in  the  vigour  of  his  early  manhood,  stood  forth  as  the  un- 
questioned master  of  Northern  India.^  But  before  the  story 
of  the  deeds  of  Chandragupta  Maurya  and  the  descendants 
Mho  succeeded  him  on  the  throne  of  Magadha  can  be  told, 
we  must  pause  to  unfold  the  M'ondrous  tale  of  the  Indian 
adventure  of  '  Philip^s  warlike  son '. 


APPENDIX   C 

Chronology  of  the  Saisunaga  and  Nanda  Dynasties. 

Fixed  Although  the  discrepant  traditionary   matei-ials  available  do 

data.  not  permit  the  determination  with  accuracy  of  the  chronology 

of  the  Saisunaga  and  Nanda  dynasties,  it  is,  I  venture  to  think, 
possible  to  attain  a  tolerably  close  approximation  to  the  truth, 
and  to  reconcile  some  of  the  traditions.  The  fixed  point  from 
which  to  reckon  backwards  is  the  year  322  B.C.,  the  date  for  the 
accession  of  Chandragupta  Maurya,  which  is  certainly  correct, 
with  a  possible  error  not  exceeding  three  years.  The  second 
principal  datum  is  the  list  of  ten  kings  of  the  Saisunaga  dynasty 
as  given  in  the  oldest  historical  entries  in  the  Puranas,  namely, 
those  in  the  Matsya  and  the  Vdyu,  the  general  correctness  of 
which  is  confirmed  by  several  lines  of  evidence  ;  and  the  third 
is  the  probable  date  of  the  death  of  Buddha. 
Duration  Although  the  ffict  that  the  Saisunaga  dynasty  consisted  of  ten 
of  reigns,  kings  may  be  admitted,  neither  the  duration  assigned  by  the 
Puranas  to  the  dynasty  as  a  whole,  nor  that  allotted  to  certain 
reigns,  can  be  accepted.  Experience  proves  that  in  a  long  series 
an  average  of  twenty-five  years  to  a  generation  is  rarely  attained, 
and  that  this  average  is  still  more  rarely  exceeded  in  a  series  of 
reigns  as  distinguished  from  generations. 


^  '  Siquidem  occupato  regno,  po- 
piilum  qucm  ab  externa  dorainatione 
vindicaverat,  ipse  [kcU.  Sandracot- 
tus)  servitio  premebat.  .  .  Molien- 
ti  deinde  bellura  adversus  prae- 
fectos  Alexandri  .  .  .  Sic  acquisito 
regno,  Sandracottus  ea  tempestate, 

?|ua  SeleiK'us  futurae  magnitiidinis 
undamenta  iaciebat,  Indiam  possi- 
debat'  (Justin,  xv,  4>  The  lan- 
guage does  not  state  the  order  of 


events  quite  clearly,  but  the  word 
deinde  seems  to  imply  that  the 
palace  revolution  at  Piltaliputra 
preceded  the  attack  on  Alexander's 
governors.  In  MudrCi-Bfihsliasa, 
Act  iv,  Malayaketu,  the  hill  chief- 
tain, observes : — 

'Nine     months     have    over    us 

passed  since  that  sad  day 
My  father  perished.' 


CHRONOLOGY  45 

The  English  series  of  ten  reigns  from  Charles  II  to  Victoria 
inclusive^  1649-1901  (reckoning  the  accession  of  Charles  II  from 
the  death  of  his  father  in  1() 49)^  occupied  2.52  years,  and  included 
the  two  exceptionally  long  reigns  of  George  III  and  Victoria, 
aggregating  124  years.  The  resultant  average,  25-2  years  per 
reign,  may  be  taken  as  the  maximum  possible,  and  consequently 
252  years  are  the  maximum  allowable  for  the  ten  Sai^unaga 
reigns.  The  Puranic  figures  of  321  (^Malsya)  and  332  {Vdyii) 
years,  obtained  by  adding  together  the  durations  of  the  several 
reigns,  may  be  rejected  without  hesitation  as  being  incredible. 
The  Matsya  account  concludes  with  tlie  statement,  '  These  will 
be  the  teji  Sai^unaga  kings.  The  Si^unagas  will  endure  360 
years,  bei/ig  kings  with  Kshatriya  kinsfolk.'  Mr.  Pargiter  sug- 
gests that  the  figures  '  360 '  should  be  interpreted  as  M  63  '. 
If  that  inr^rpretation  be  accepted  the  average  length  of  reign 
would  be  oiity'  l63,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  make  Buddha 
(died  cir.  487)  contemporary  with  Bimbisara  and  Ajata^atru. 
It  is  more  probable  that  the  dynasty  lasted  for  more  than 
two  centuries. 

As  stated  in  the  text,  the  traditional  periods  assigned  to  the  Anterior 
Nanda  dynasty  of  either  100  or  155  years  for  two  generations  li"?'*- °^ 
cannot  be  accepted.  A  more  reasonable  period  of  fifty  years 
may  be  provisionally  assumed.  We  thus  get  302  (252  +  50) 
as  the  maximum  admissible  period  for  the  Sai^unaga  and  Nanda 
dynasties  combined  ;  and,  reckoning  backwards  from  the  fixed 
point,  322  u.c,  the  year  624  b.c.  is  found  to  be  the  earliest  possible 
date  for  Sisundga,  the  first  king.  But  of  course  the  true  date  may 
be,  and  probably  is,  somewhat  plater,  because  it  is  extremely  un- 
likely that  twelve  reigns  (ten  Sai^unaga  and  two  Nanda)  should 
have  attained  an  average  of  25-16  years.  , 

The  reigns  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  kings,  Bimbisara  or  Srenika,  Probable 
and  Ajata^atru  or  Kunika,  were  well  remembered  owing  to  the  actual 
wars  and  events  in  religious  history  which  marked  them.     We  '"^'S"^* 
may  therefore  assume  that  the  lengths  of  those  reigns  were 
known  more  or  less  accurately,  and  are  justified  in  accepting 
the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  Vayu  and  Matsya  Puranas,  that 
Bimbisai-a  reigned  for  twenty-eight  years. 

Ajata^atru  is  assigned  twenty-five,  or  twenty-seven  years  by 
different  Puranas,  and  thirty-two  years  by  Tibetan  and  Ceylonese 
Buddhist  tradition.  I  assume  the  correctness  of  the  oldest  Puranic 
list,  that  of  the  Matsya,  and  take  his  reign  to  have  been  twenty- 
seven  years.  The  real  existence  of  Dar^aka  (erroneously  called 
Varii^aka  by  the  Matsya^  having  been  established  by  Bhasa's 
Vdsavadatta,  his  reign  may  be  assigned  twenty-four  years,  as 
in  the  Matsya.  Udaya,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  Buddhist 
books,  and  is  said  to  have  built  Pataliputra,  is  assigned  thirty- 
three  years  by  the   Puranas,  which  may  pass. 

The  Vdyu  and  Matsya  Puranas  respectively  assign  eighty-five 


46      THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 


Tradi- 
tional 
dates  of 
Mahavira 
and 
Gautama. 


Death  of 
Buddha, 

48T  B.  c. 


and  eighty-thi'ee  years  to  tlie  sum  of  the  reigns  of  kings  numbers 
J)  and  10  togetlicr.  These  figures  are  improbably  high,  and  it  is 
unUkely  that  tlie  two  reigns  actually  occupied  more  than  fifty 
years.     The  figure  4G  is  assumed. 

The  evidence  as  far  as  it  goes,  and  at  best  it  does  not  amount 
to  much,  indicates  that  the  average  length  of  the  later  reigns 
was  in  excess  of  the  normal  figure.  We  may  assume,  therefore, 
that  the  first  four  reigns,  about  which  nothing  is  known,  must 
have  been  comparatively  short,  and  did  not  exceed  some  seventy 
or  eighty  years  collectively.  An  assumption  that  these  reigns 
were  longer  would  unduly  prolong  the  total  diu'ation  of  the 
dynasty,  the  beginning  of  which  must  be  dated  about  600  B.C., 
or  a  little  earlier. 

The  existence  of  a  great  body  of  detailed  traditions,  which  are 
not  mere  mythological  legends,  sufficiently  establishes  the  facts 
that  both  Alahavira,  the  Jain  leader,  and  Gautama  Buddha  were 
contemporary  to  a  considerable  extent  with  one  another  and  with 
the  kings  Bimbisara  and  Ajata^atru.' 

Tradition  also  indicates  that  Mahavira  predeceased  Buddha. 
The  deaths  of  these  saints  form  well-marked  epochs  in  the  history 
of  Indian  religion,  and  are  constantly  referred  to  by  ecclesiastical 
writers  for  chronological  purposes.  It  might  therefore  be  ex- 
pected that  the  traditional  dates  of  the  two  events  would  supply 
at  once  the  desired  clue  to  the  dynastic  chronology.  But  close 
examination  of  conflicting  traditions  raises  difficulties.  The  year 
527  (528-7)  B.C.,  the  xnost  commonly  quoted  date  for  the  death 
of  Mahavira,  is  merely  one  of  several  traditionary  dates,'^  and  it 
seems  to  be  impossible  to  reconcile  the  Jain  traditions  either 
among  themselves  or  with  the  known  approximate  date  of 
Chandragupta. 

The  variety  of  dates  assigned  for  the  death  of  Buddha  is  almost 


'Jacobi,  Introd.,  S.  B.  E.,  vols, 
xxii,  xlv ;  the  visit  of  Kuniya 
(Ajata^atru  (  is  alluded  to  in  §  1, 
p.  9,  of  the  Jain  Ucdsaqa  JJasfio 
{Blbl.  I)i(l.,ed.  and  trans.  Hoernle), 
and  in  the  Buddhist  Dulva  (Rock- 
hill,  Life  of  fhe  Buddha,  p.  lOi). 
Dr.  Hoernle  has  kindly  supplied 
these  references. 

•^Burgess,  Ind.  Ant,,  ii,  139. 
Hoernle  (ibid,  xx,  360)  discusses 
the  contradictory  Jain  dates,  and 
observes  that  although  the  Digam- 
bara  and  Svetarabara  sects  agree 
in  placing  the  death  of  Mahavira 
47(J  years  before  Vikrama,  whose 
era  begins  in  .58  ii.  c,  the  Digam- 
baras  reckon  back  from  the  birth, 
and  the  Svetarabaras  from  tlie  ac- 


cession of  Vikrama.  The  books 
indicate  that  .551,  or  543,  or  527 
B.  c.  may  be  regarded  as  the  tradi- 
tional date.  See  also  ibid,  ii,  363  ; 
ix,  158  ;  xi,  245  ;  xiii,  279  ;  xxi,  57  ; 
and  xxiii,  169,  for  further  discussion 
of  Jain  chronology.  Note  especially 
the  statements  that  Sthulabhadra, 
ninth  suc('essor  of  Mahavira,  who 
was  imuitrin  of  the  ninth  Nanda, 
died  either  215  or  219  years  after 
the  death  of  Mahavira,  the  same 
year  in  which  Nanda  was  slain  by 
Chandragupta  (ibid,  xi,  246).  Me- 
rutunga  dates  Pushyamitra,  who 
came  to  the  thorne  cir.  185  b.  c, 
in  the  period  323-53  after  Maha- 
vira (Weber,  Sacred  Lit.  of  the 
Jains,  p.  133). 


DEATH  OF  BUDDHA  47 

past  counting.^      Three  independent  arguments  confirm  tlie  ap- 
proximate true  date  as  being  487  or  4-86  u.c. : — 

(1)  The  'dotted  record'  kept  up  at  Canton  until  a.d.  489 
showed  975  dots  up  to  that  year  ;  975  -  489  =  486  (Takakusu,  /. 
R  A.S.,  1905,  p.  51). 

(2)  Paramartha,  author  of  the  Life  of  Vasubandhu,  places  the 
teachers  Vrisha-gana  and  Vindhya-vasa,  who  flourished  in  tlie  fifth 
century  after  Christy  as  living  in  the  tenth  century  after  the 
Nirvana  (487  +  413  =  900). 

(3)  One  form  of  the  Khotan  tradition  places  Dharma  Asoka 
250  years  after  the  Nirvana  of  Buddha,  and  makes  him  contempo- 
rary with  the  Chinese  emperor,  She-hwang-ti,  the  builder  of  the 
Great  Wall,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  246  b.c,  became  '  uni- 
versal emperor'  in  221,  and  reigned  until  210  (Sarat  Chandra 
Das,  J.  A.  S.  B.,  part  1,  1886,  pp.  193-203;  Tchang,  Synchro- 
nismes  chinois).  '^ 

Assuming  the  death  of  Buddha  to  have  occurred  about  487  B.C.,  Fixed 
the  necessary  inference  follows  that  Ajata^atru  had  begun  to  datum 
reign  before  that  year,  and  a  definite  chronological  datum  for  the  Q^jj-^jned 
Sai^unaga  dynasty  is  thus  obtained.  Professor 

I  have  read  carefully  Professor  Geiger's  Introduction  to  his  Geiger's 
translation  of  the  Mahdvamsa  (1912),  but  find  no  reason  to  alter  views, 
my  opinions  on  the  matters  in  controversy  between  us.  The  case 
of  king  Dar^aka  {(inte,  p.  39)  illustrates  the  inferiority  of  the 
Mahdvamsa  list  of  early  Indian  kings  as  compax'ed  with  the 
Puranic  list.  I  still  disbelieve  in  Kalasoka.  Traditions  preserved 
in  Magadha  should  be  more  trustworthy  than  those  recorded  at 
a  later  date  by  monks  in  distant  Ceylon. 

It  is  impossible  to  fix  precise  dates  for  the  pre-Maui'ya  kings. 
The  following  table  assumes  the  correctness  of  their  names  and 
order  as  given  in  the  oldest  Puranic  lists,  those  of  the  MaUya 
and  Vdyu,  but  no  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  recorded  length 
of  the  reigns.  Some  may  be  correct,  while  it  is  certain  that 
some  are  erroneous. 

*  The  variant  dates  for  the  death  occurred  between  490  and  480  b.  c.  , 

of  Buddha  given  by  the  Chinese  while  nobody  upholds  the  Ceylonese 

and  other  authorities  are  too  nume-  traditional  date  of  544  or  543  b.  c. 

rous    and    well    known    to    need  483  is  now  preferred  by  Dr.  Fleet 

citation.     Dr.   Fleet  at  one  time  and  Prof.  Geiger. 

held  482  b.  c.  to  be  '  the  most  prob-  ^  Other    forms    of   the    Tibetan 

able  and  satisfactory  date  that  we  tradition  are  given  by  Sarat  Chandra 

are  likely  to  obtain '  (/.  R.  A.  S.,  Das,  I.e.,  and  by  Rockhill,  Life  of 

1906,    p.    667).     Everybody    now  the  Buddha.,  pp.  233,  237. 
seems  to  be  agreed  that  the  event 


48       THE  DYNASTIES  BEFORE  ALEXANDER 


CHRONOLOGY  (APPROXIMATE)  OF  SAISUNAGA 
AND  NANDA  DYNASTIES 


Letufth  of 

Probable 

Serial 

King 

lieign. 

date  of 

Remarks, 

No. 

{Matsya  Purdna). 

{MatsyaP.) 

Accession. 

Saisunaga 

B.C. 

,        DVNASIY. 

1 

Si^unaga   .     .     . 

40  N 

:'602 

2 

Kakavarna     .     . 

26 

3 

Kshemadharman 

36     126 

4 

Kshemajit  or 
Kshatraujas     . 

24) 

■  Nothing  known. 

5 

Bimbisara      .     . 

28 

c.  530 

Built  New  Rajagriha  ;  an- 
nexed Anga ;  contempo- 
rary with  Mahavira  and 
Gautama  Buddha. 

6 

Ajata^atru     .     . 

27 

c.  502 

Parricide  ;  death  of  Bud- 
dha, 487  ;  built  fort  of 
Pataliputra ;  wars  with 
Kosala  and  Vaisali. 

7 

Darsaka    .     .     . 

24 

c.  475 

See  Vusavadattd  of  Bhasa. 

8 

Udasin  or  Udaya 

33 

c.  451 

Built  city  of  Kusumapura 
near  Pataliputra. 

9 

Nandivardhana  . 

*'^!8'^ 
43  i^"^ 

?418 

Nothing    known ;     reigns 

10 

Mahanandin  ,     . 

probably  shorter  in  real- 

ity :  46  years  allowed. 

Total    .     . 

321 

c.  230 

Average    . 

32-1 

23-0 
(maximum 
possible) 

25-0 

The  Matsya  assigns  either 
360  or  ?  163  (Pargiter,  p. 
69)  to  the  dynasty,  as  a 
whole. 

Nanda  Dynasty. 

11 
12 

Mahapadma,  &c., 

1     100 

:''372 

50  years  allowed. 

9  ;  2  generations 

\ 

Maurya 

Dynasty. 

13 

Chandragupta    . 

24 

322 

CHAPTER   III 

ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN: 
THE  ADVANCE 

Alexander  the  Great,  having  completed  the  suhjuga-  April, 
tion  of  Bactria,  resolved  to  execute  his  cherished  purpose  ofp^'^^*^'    . 
emulating  and  surpassing  the  mythical  exploits  of  Dionysos,  Hindu 
Herakles,  and  Semiramis  by  effecting  the  conquest  of  India. 
Towards  the  close  of  spring  in  the  year  327  b.c.^  when  the 
sun  had  sufficiently  melted  the  snows,  he  led  his  army,  in- 
cluding perhaps  fifty  or   sixty  thousand  Europeans,  across 
the  lofty  Khawak  and  Kaoshan  passes  of  the  Hindu  Kush, 
or  Indian  Caucasus,  and  after  ten   days'  toil    amidst   the 
mountains  emerged  in  the  rich  valley  now  known   as   the 
Koh-i-Daman.^ 

Here,  two  years  earlier,  before  the  Bactrian  campaign,  he  Alexan- 

had  founded  a  town,  named  as  usual,  Alexandria,  as  a  strate-  ^.^g*  "na^^r 

gical  outpost  to  secure  his  intended  advance.     The  governor  Caucasus. 

of  this  town,  whose  administration  had  been  a  failure,  was 

replaced  by  Nikanor,  son  of  Parmenion,  the  king's  intimate 

friend ;    the  population  was  recruited  by  fresh  settlers  from 

the  surrounding  districts ;  and  the  garrison  was  strengthened 

by  a  reinforcement  of  veterans  discharged  from  the  ranks  of 

the  expeditionary  force   as   being   unequal   to  the    arduous 

labours  of  the  coming  campaign.^ 

^  'E^TiKovTos  ijST]  Tov  ^pos  (Amao)  ;  ^  Alexandria    '  under    the    Cau- 

i.  e.  late  in  April,  or  early  in  May.  casus  ',  or  '  in  the  Paropanisadai ', 

For  identification  of  the  passes  see  to  distinguish  it  from  the  numerous 

Holdich,     Report     of    the    Pamir  other  towns  of  the  same  name.    The 

Boundary  Commission,  pp.  29,  30.  exact    position    cannot    be    deter- 

The  height  of  the  Khawak  Pass,  as  rained,  but  its  site  nuiy  be  marked 

marked  on  the  India  Office  map  of  by  the  extensive  ruins  at  Opian  or 

India,  is  13,200  feet.     The  strength  Houpian.     near     Charikar,     some 

of  the  force  that  crossed  the  Hindu  thirty  miles  northward  from  Kabul. 

Kush  is  not  known.    The  statement  The  old  identification  with  Bamian 

of  Plutarch    {Alexander,   ch.  Ixvi)  is  certainly  erroneous  (McCrindle, 

that  his   hero   entered  India  with  Invasion  of  India  by  Alexander  the 

120,000  foot  and  15,000  horse  may  Great,  2nd  ed.,  p.  58,  and  note  A  ; 

or  may  not  be  correct,  and  is  open  Cunningham,   Anc.    Geoy.    India, 

to  much  variety  of  interpretation.  pp.  21-6).     Von  Schwarz  identifies 


50 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Nikaia, 


June  or 

July, 

327  B.C. 

Hephai- 

stion  and 

Perdik- 

kas. 


August, 
327  B.C. 
Attitude 
of  the 
native 
chiefs. 


The  important  position  of  Alexandria,  which  commanded 
the  roads  over  three  passes,  having  been  thus  secured^  in 
accordance  with  Alexander's  customary  caution,  the  civil 
administration  of  the  country  between  the  passes  and  the 
Kophen^  or  Kabul,  river  was  provided  for  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Tyriaspes  as  satrap.  Alexander,  when  assured  that 
his  communications  M'ere  safe,  advanced  with  his  army  to 
a  city  named  Nikaia,  situated  to  the  west  of  the  modern 
Jalalabad,  on  the  road  from  Kabul  to  India. ^ 

Here  the  king  divided  his  forces.  Generals  Hephaistion 
and  Perdikkas  were  ordered  to  proceed  in  advance  with 
three  brigades  of  infantry,  half  of  the  horse  guards,  and  the 
whole  of  the  mercenary  cavalrj^  direct  to  India.  They  were 
required  to  reach  the  Indus,  and  occupy  Peukelaotis,  situated 
in  the  territory  now  held  by  the  Yusufzl.  In  all  probability 
they  marched  along  the  valley  of  the  Kabul  river,  and  not 
through  the  Khyber  Pass.  Their  instructions  were  couched 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  maxim — '^  Pare  ere  subiectis  et 
debellare  superbos'.^ 

Most  of  the  tribal  chiefs  preferred  the  alternative  of  sub- 
mission, but  one  named  Hasti  (Astes)  ventured  to  resist. 
His  strongliold,  which  held  out  for  thirty  days,  was  taken 
and  destroyed.  During  this  march  eastward,  Hephaistion 
and  Perdikkas  were  accompanied  by  the  king  of  Taxila, 
a  great  city  beyond  the  Indus,  who  had  lost  no  time  in 
obeying  Alexander's  summons,  and  in  placing  his  services  at 
the  disposal  of  the  invader.  Other  chiefs  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Indus  adopted  the  same  course,  and,  with  the 

2  The  ancient  road  did  not  pass 
through  the  Khaibar  (Khyber)  Pass 
(Holdich,  The  Indian  Borderland, 
1901,  p.  38) ;  Foucher,  Notes  sur  la 
giogrnphie  ancienne  du  Qandhdra 
(Hanoi,  1902,  in  Bull,  de  Viicole  Fr. 
d'Extr(me-Orient).  The  Khaibar 
route  probably  was  used  once  by 
Mahinud  of  GhaznT,  and  certainly 
several  times  by  Babar  and  Huraa- 
yun.  In  the  eighteenth  century. 
Nadir  Shah,  Ahmad  Shah  AbdalT, 
and  his  grandson,  Shah-i-Zaman, 
all  passed  through  the  Khaibar 
(Raverty,  Notes,  pp.  38,  73). 


Alexandria  in  the  Paropanisadai 
with  Kabul  (Alexander  des  Grussen 
Feldzuge  in  Turkestan,  pp.  94,  101, 
102). 

^  The  rival  opinions  concerning 
the  site  of  Nikaia  are  collected  by 
McCrindle  (op.  cit.  note  B).  I  follow 
General  Abbott,  who  was  clearly 
right,  as  Jalalabad  marks  the  spot 
where  the  division  of  the  army 
would  naturally  take  place.  Cer- 
tain local  chiefs,  the  Sultans  of 
Pich,  claim  descent  from  Alexan- 
der (Raverty,  Notes  on  A  fghanistan, 
pp.  48-51). 


ALEXANDER'S  FLANKING  MARCH  51 

help  of   these  native  potentates,  the   Macedonian  generals 

were  enabled  to  make  satisfactory  progress  in  the  task  of 

bridging  the  Indus,  which  had  been  committed  to  them  by 

their  sovereign. 

Alexander  in  person  assumed  the  command  of  the  second  August, 

corps  or  division,  consisting  of  the  infantry  known  as  hyp-  ^'^P; 

aspists,  the  foot  guards,  the  Agrianian   or  Thracian   light  327  b.  c. 

infantry,  the  archers,  the  mounted  lancers,  and  the  rest  of  j|gj.'g 

the  horse  guards.     With  this  force  he  undertook  a  flankini;  flanking 

march, 
movement   through  the  difficult   hill   covmtry  north  of   the 

Kabul  river,  in  order  to  subdue  the  fierce  tribes  which 
inhabited,  as  they  still  inhabit,  that  region ;  and  thus  to 
secure  his  communications,  and  protect  his  army  from  attacks 
on  the  flank  and  rear.  The  difficulties  of  the  operation  due 
to  the  ruggedness  of  the  country,  the  fierce  heat  of  summer, 
the  bitter  cold  of  winter,  and  the  martial  spirit  of  the  hill- 
men,  were  enormous ;  but  no  difficulties  could  daunt  the 
courage  or  defeat  the  skill  of  Alexander.^ 

Although  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  trace  his  move-  Details  of 

ments  with  precision,  or  to  identify  with  even  approximate '"^/°"*^ 
■^  -^  ,  •'  ^  ^  unknown. 

certainty  the  tribes  which  he  encountered,  or  the  strongholds 
which  he  captured  and  destroyed  in  the  course  of  some  five 
months'  laborious  marching ;  it  is  certain  that  he  ascended 
the  ^  alley  of  the  Kunar  or  Chitral  river  for  a  considerable 
distance.  At  a  nameless  town  in  the  hills,  Alexander  was 
M'ounded  in  the  shoulder  by  a  dart ;  and  the  incident  so 
enraged  his  troops  that  all  the  prisoners  taken  there  were 
massacred,  and  the  town  was  razed  to  the  ground.^ 

'  'A\X'ovT6  x^'A'wi'  ey(V€To  (finoSuv  1891).     The   guesses   of  Cunning- 

avTO)   ovTf   al   Svdxojpiai   .  .    .   ovSiv  ham  and  other  writers  are  equally 

aiTopov  ' KXi^avbpcu  rwv  iroXefiiKwv  riv  unsatisfactory.      I    do    not    agree 

ks  6,  T(  6piJ.T](Ttu  (Arrian,  Anah.  vii,  with   Mr.   Pincott  that  Alexander 

15).    Similar  precautions  were  not  went    as     far     north    as     Chitral 

required  on  the  south  of  the  line  of  {J.  R.  A.  S.,  189+,  p.  681) ;  but  at 

march,  because  the  hills  there  have  present  it  is  not  possible  to  deter- 

'  never  afforded  suitable  ground  for  mine  the  point  at  which  he  turned 

the  collection  of  fighting  bodies  of  eastwards,  and  crossed  the  moun- 

meninanygreatstrength'(Holdich,  tains  into  Bajaur.     It  is,  however. 

The  Gates  of  India,  p.  95).  certain   that   he    used   one   of  the 

^  A  list  of  very  speculative  iden-  regular  passes,   which   necessarily 

tifications  of  tribes  and  places  will  remain  imchanged,  and  by  which 

be  found  in  Bellew's  Ethnoaraphu  alone  Bajaur  territory  can  be  en- 

of  Afghanistan,  pp.  64^76  (Woking,  tered.      Raverty    describes,    from 

E  2 


52 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


force. 


Entry  into 
Bajaur. 


Second  Soon    after    this   tragedy,    Alexander    again    divided   his 

field-  forces,  leaving  Krateros,  '  the  man  most  faithful  to  him,  and 

whom  he  valued  equally  with  himself  ^,'  to  complete  the 
reduction  of  the  tribesmen  of  the  Kunar  valley;  while  the 
king  in  person  led  a  body  of  picked  troops  against  the 
Aspasians,  who  were  defeated  with  great  slaughter. 

He  then  crossed  the  mountains  and  entered  the  valley 
now  called  Bajaur,  where  he  found  a  town  named  Arigaion, 
which  had  been  burnt  and  abandoned  by  the  inhabitants. 
It  may  have  stood  at  or  near  the  position  of  Nawagai,  the 
present  chief  town  of  Bajaur.^  Krateros,  having  completely 
executed  his  task  in  the  Kunar  Aalley,  now  rejoined  his 
master ;  and  measures  were  concerted  for  the  reduction  of 
the  tribes  further  east,  whose  subjugation  was  indispensable 
before  an  advance  into  India  coidd  be  made  with  safety. 

The  Aspasians  were  finally  routed  in  a  second  great  battle, 
losing,  it  is  said,  more  than  40,000  prisoners,  and  230,000 
oxen.  The  perfection  of  the  arrangements  by  which  Alex- 
ander maintained  communication  with  his  remote  European 
base  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  he  selected  the 
best  and  handsomest  of  the  captured  cattle,  and  sent  them 
to  Macedonia  for  use  in  agriculture. 

A  fancied  connexion  with  Dionysos  and  the  sacred  Mount 
Nysa  of  Greek  legend  gave  special  interest  to  the  town  and 
hill-state  called  Nysa,  which  was  among  the  places  next 
attacked.^  An  attempt  to  take  the  town  by  assault  having 
failed  by  reason  of  the  depth  of  the  protecting  river, 
Alexander  was  preparing  to  reduce  it  by  blockade  when 
the  speedy  submission  of  the  inhabitants  rendered  further 
operations  unnecessary.  They  are  alleged  to  have  craved  his 
clemency  on  the  ground  that  they  were  akin  to  Dionysos 
and    the    Greeks,  because    the   ivy  and  vine  grew  in    their 


Final 
defeat  of 
Aspa- 
sians. 


Nysa. 


native  information,  two  routes  from 
Kabul  to  Bajaur ;  and  it  may  well 
be  that  Alexander  followed  the  'left- 
hand  ',  or  eastern  one,  which  goes 
through  a  village  named  Kuz  Danahi, 
where  two  roads  diverge,  of  which 
one  leads  to  Chitral,  and  the  other 


to  the  Shahr,  or  capital  of  Bajaur 
{Notes,  pp.  112-18). 

^  Arrian,  Anah.  vii,  12. 

'  Holdich,  The  Gates  of  India, 
1910,  p.  103. 

^  Curtius  viii,  10),  places  the  sur- 
render of  Nysa  before  the  siege  of 
Massaga. 


NYSA  53 

country,  and  the  triple-peaked  mountain  which  overshado\\ed 
their  town  was  no  other  than  Mount  Meros.  Alexander, 
who  found  such  fancies  useful  as  a  stimulant  to  his  home-sick 
troops,  did  not  examine  the  evidence  for  the  kinship  with 
Dionysos  in  too  critical  a  spirit,  but  was  glad  to  accept  the 
Nysaean  appeals  and  to  exercise  a  gracious  clemency. 

In  order  to  gratify  his  own  curiosity,  and  to  give  some  Revels, 
of  his  best  troops  a  pleasant  holiday,  he  paid  a  visit  to 
the  mountain,  probably  that  now  known  as  the  Koh-i-Mor, 
accompanied  by  an  adecjuate  escort  of  the  companion  cavalry 
and  foot  guards.  The  chants  and  dances  of  the  natives,  the 
ancestors  of  the  Kafirs  of  the  present  day,  bore  sufficient 
resemblance  to  the  Bacchanalian  rites  of  Hellas  to  justify  the 
claims  made  by  the  Nysaeans,  and  to  encourage  the  soldiers 
in  their  belief  that,  although  far  from  home,  they  had  at  last 
found  a  people  who  shared  their  religion  and  miglit  be 
regarded  as  kinsmen.  Alexander  humoured  the  convenient 
delusion  and  allowed  his  troops  to  enjoy,  with  the  help  of 
their  native  friends,  a  ten  days^  revel  in  the  jungles.  The 
Nysaeans,  on  their  part,  showed  their  gratitude  for  the 
clemency  which  they  had  experienced  by  contributing  a 
contingent  of  three  hundred  horsemen,  who  remained  with 
Alexander  throughout  the  wliole  period  of  his  advance,  and 
were  not  sent  home  until  October,  326  B.C.,  when  he  was 
about  to  start  on  his  voyage  down  the  rivers  to  the  sea.^ 

^  Arrian,  Anah.  v,  1,  vi,  2;  compatriot,  and  were  kindly  treated 
Curtius,  viii,  10  ;  Justin,  xii,  7  ;  by  him  in  consequence.  They  had 
Plutarch,  Alex.,  ch.  Iviii ;  Strabo,  been  there,  in  the  Suwat  country 
XV,  7-9.  The  conjectures  concern-  bordering  the  slopes  of  the  Koh-i- 
ing  the  identity  of  Nysa  collected  Mor  ("Meros  "of  the  Classics'),  from 
in  McCrindle's  Note  G  are  un-  such  ancient  periods  that  the  Make- 
satisfactory.  Sir  H.  T.  Holdich,  donians  could  give  no  account  of 
whose  knowledge  of  the  frontier  is  their  advent ;  and  they  remained 
unsurpassed,  has  been  more  sue-  in  the  Suwat  country  till  compara- 
cessful,  and  has  indicated  the  ap-  tively  recent  Buddhist  times  .  .  . 
proximate  position  of  Nysa  with  The  lower  spurs  and  valleys  of  the 
tolerable  certainty.  '  Elsewhere  ',  Koh  i-Mor  [are]  where  the  ancient 
he  writes  {Geogr.  J.  for  Jan.,  1876),  city  of  Nysa  (or  Nuson)  once  stood. 
'  I  have  stated  my  reasons  for  be-  Apparently  it  exists  no  longer 
lieving  that  the  Kamdesh  Kafirs  above  ground,  though  it  may  be 
who  sent  hostages  to  the  camp  of  found  in  the  maps  of  thirty  years 
Ghulam  Haidar  are  descendants  of  ago,  figuring  as  rather  an  important 
those  very  Nysaeans  who  greeted  place  under  its  old  name  .  .  . 
Alexander  as  a  co-religionist  and  Bacchanalian     processions    .    .    . 


54  ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 

The  Assa-      Alexander  now  undertook  in  person  the  reduction  of  the 

kenoi  and  formidable  nation  called  the  Assakenoi,  who  were  reported  to 
Massaga.  '  a 

await  him  witii  an  arni\-  of  20,000  cavalry,  more  than  30,000 
infantry,  and  thirty  elepliants.  Quitting  the  Bajaur  territory, 
Alexander  crossed  the  Gouraios  (Panjkora)  river,  with  a  body 
of  picked  regiments,  including,  as  usual,  a  large  proportion 
of  mounted  troops,  and  entered  the  Assakenian  territory,  in 
order  to  attack  Massaga,  the  greatest  city  of  those  parts  and 
the  seat  of  the  sovereign  power.  This  formidable  fortress, 
probably  situated  not  very  far  to  the  north  of  the  Malakand 
Pass,  but  not  yet  precisely  identified,  was  strongly  fortified 
by  both  nature  and  art.^  On  the  east,  an  impetuous  moun- 
tain stream,  flowing  between  steep  banks,  barred  access ; 
while,  on  the  south  and  west,  gigantic  rocks,  deep  chasms, 
and  treacherous  morasses  impeded  the  approach  of  an  assail- 
ing force.  Where  nature  failed  to  give  adequate  protection, 
art  had  stepped  in,  and  had  girdled  the  city  with  a  mighty 
rampart,  built  of  brick,  stone,  and  timber,  about  four  miles 
(35  stadia)  in  circumference,  and  guarded  by  a  deep  moat 
(Q.  Curtius,  viii,  10).  While  reconnoitring  these  formidable 
defences,  and  considering  his  plan  of  attack,  Alexander  was 
again  wounded  by  an  arrow.  The  wound  was  not  very 
serious,  and  did  not  prevent  him  from  continuing  the  active 
supervision  of  the  siege  operations,  which  were  designed  and 
controlled  throughout  by  his  master  mind. 

chanting  hymns,  as  indeed  they  Alexander  did  not  write  down  the 
are  chanted  to  this  day  by  certain  truth  in  reporting  this '. 
of  the  Kafirs' (Holdich,  The  Indian  ^  The  Greek  and  Roman  writers 
l^cirrferZrtjjd,  Methuen,l!)01,pp.  270,  spell  the  name  variously,  as  Mas- 
342;  The  GatesofJiidia, 1910, pA23).  saga,  Massaka,  Mazaga,  and  Ma- 
Properly  speaking,  Meros  was  the  soga,  Holdich  suggests  that  the 
name  of  a  single  peak  of  the  triple-  fortress  stood  at  or  near  Matakanai 
peaked  mountain  {rpmupv^'ov  6pos).  (The  b'atcx  of  Indian  1910,  p.  128). 
The  other  summits  were  named  M.  Foucher  suggests  Katgalla  (Kat- 
Korasibie  and  Kondasbe  respec-  galah),  some  miles  farther  north 
tivcly  (Polyainos,  I,  1 ;  p.  7  in  ed.  [Sur  la  Frontiere  Indo-Afyhane, 
Melbar).  The  three  peaks  are  visi-  Paris,  1901,  p.  158).  Minglaur  or 
blc  from  Peshawar.  Compare  the  Manglawar,  which  has  been  pro- 
anecdote  of  Conolly  and  his  '  rela-  posed  as  the  site  and  in  some  re- 
tives,  the  Kafirs'  (Kaverty,  Notes,  spects  is  suitable,  lies  too  much  to 
p.  129  .  Philostratos  (Apullunios,  the  east.  For  Manglawar,  see 
Bk.  II,  ch.  9y  avers  that  'the  in-  liaverty,  Notes  on  Af(/h<ini.sf<in,  pp. 
habitants  of  Nysa  deny  that  Alex-  200,  231.;  Stein,  Arr'haeul.  Tour  in 
ander  ever  went  up  the  mountain  ',  Jiuncr,  Lahore,  1898,  p.  63  ;  Deane, 
and  adds  that  '  the  companions  of  J.  li.  A.  S.,  1896,  p.  655. 


MASSAGA  55 

Commaiuled  hy  such  a  general  the  meanest  sohlier  becomes  siorm  of 

a  hero.     The  troops  hiboured  with   such   zeal    that  within  l^^^ 

lortrcss. 
nine  days  they  had  raised  a   mole  level  with   the   ground 

sufficient  to  bridge  the  moat,  and  to  allow  the  movable  towers 

and  other  engines  to  approach  the  walls.     The  garrison  Mas 

disheartened  by  the  death  of  their  chief,  who  was  killed  by 

a  blow  from  a  missile   discharged   by  an    engine,  and   the 

place  was  taken  by  storm.     Kleophis,  the   consort   of  the 

slain  chieftain,  and  her  infant  son  were  captui'ed,  and  it  is 

said  that  she  subsequently  bore  a  son  to  Alexander.' 

The  garrison  of  Massaga  had  included  a  body  of  7,000  Massacre 

mercenaiT  troops  from  the  plains  of  India.     Alexander,  bv        *^-'^' 
J  t^  r  >     J  cenaries. 

a  special  agreement,  had  granted  these  men  their  lives  on 
condition  that  they  should  change  sides  and  take  service  in 
his  i*anks.  In  pursuance  of  this  agreement,  they  were  allowed 
to  retire  and  encamp  on  a  small  hill  facing,  and  about  nine 
miles  (80  stadia)  distant  from,  the  Macedonian  camp.  The 
mercenaries,  being  unwilling  to  aid  the  foreigner  in  the  sub- 
jugation of  their  countrymen,  desired  to  evade  the  unwelcome 
obligation  which  they  had  incurred,  and  proposed  to  slip 
away  by  night  and  return  to  their  homes.  Alexander, 
having  received  information  of  their  design,  suddenly  attacked 
the  Indians  while  they  reposed  in  fancied  security  and 
inflicted  severe  loss  upon  them.  Recovering  from  their  sur- 
prise, the  mercenaries  formed  themselves  into  a  hollow  circle, 
with  the  women  and  children  in  the  centre,  and  offered 
a  desperate  resistance,  in  which  the  women  took  an  active 
part.  At  last,  the  gallant  defenders  were  overpowered  by 
superior  numbers,  and,  in  the  words  of  an  ancient  historian, 
'met  a  glorious  death  which  they  would  have  disdained  to 
exchange  for  a  life  with  dishonour.^  The  unarmed  camp 
followers  and  the  women  were  spared.^ 

^  Arrian  {Atuib.  iv,  27)  speaks  ...  at  all  events  she  afterwards 

of  'the   mother  and   daughter  of  gave  birth  to  a  son  who  received 

Assakenos '.     Q.   Curtius  (viii,  10)  the  name   of  Alexander,  whoever 

states  that '  Assacanus,  its  previous  his  father  may  have  been  '.     Ap- 

sovereign,  had  lately  died,  and  his  parently,  Kleophis  must  have  been 

mother  Cleophis  now  ruled  the  city  the  widow  of  the  chief  who  was 

and  the  realm '.    He  adds  that 'the  killed  in   the  siege,  according   to 

queen  herself,  having   placed   her  Arrian. 

son,  still  a  child,  at   Alexander's  ^  Arrian,  y/vm/^-iv,  27  ;  Diodorus, 

knees,  obtained   not  only   pardon  xvii,  84 ;  Curtius,  viii,  10. 


56 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Comment.  Tliis  incident,  which  has  been  severely  condemned  by 
various  writers,  ancient  and  modern,  as  a  disgraceful  breach 
of  faith  b}^  Alexander,  does  not  seem  to  have  been,  as 
supposed  by  Diodorus,  the  outcome  of  implacable  enmity 
felt  by  the  king  against  the  mercenaries.  The  slaughter  of 
the  contingent  was  rather,  as  represented  by  Arrian,  the 
tremendous  penalty  for  a  meditated  breach  of  faith  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  and,  if  this  explanation  be  true,  the 
penalty  cannot  be  regarded  as  altogether  undeserved.  While 
the  accession  of  seven  thousand  brave  and  disciplined  troops 
would  have  been  a  welcome  addition  to  Alexander's  small 
army,  the  addition  of  such  a  force  to  the  enemy  in  the 
plains  Mould  have  been  a  serious  impediment  to  his  advance ; 
and  he  was,  I  think,  justified  in  protecting  himself  against 
such  a  formidable  increase  of  the  enemy's  strength. 

Alexander  next  captured  a  town  called  Ora  or  Nora,  and 
occupied  an  important  place  named  Bazira,  the  inhabitants 
of  which,  with  those  of  other  towns,  had  retired  to  the 
stronghold  of  Aornos  near  the  Indus.^  The  desire  of  Alex- 
ander to  cajjture  this  position,  believed  to  be  impregnable, 
was  based  upon  military  exigencies,  and  fired  by  a  legend 
that  the  demi-god,  Herakles,  whom  he  claimed  as  an  ancestor, 
had  been  baffled  by  the  defences. 

The  mountain,  according  to  Diodorus,  was  washed  on  the 
southern  face  by  the  Indus,  the  greatest  of  Indian  rivers, 
which  at  this  point  was  very  deep,  and  enclosed  by  rugged 
and  precipitous  rocks,  forbidding  approach  from  that  side.  On 
the  other  sides,  as  at  Massaga,  ravines,  cliffs,  and  swamps 
presented  obstacles  sufficient  to  daunt  the  bravest  assailant. 
Arrian  states  that  a  single  path  gave  access  to  the  summit, 
M'hich  was  well  supplied  M^ith  water,  and  comprised  arable 
land  requiring  the  labour  of  a  thousand  men  for  its  cultiva- 
tion. The  summit  was  crowned  by  a  steeply  scarped  mass 
of  rock,  which  formed  a  natural  citadel,  and,  doubtless,  was 
further  protected  by  art.^ 


Retire- 
ment of 
tribes  to 
Aornos. 


DescrifH 
tion  of 
Aornos. 


^  Holdich  places  Ora  and  Bazira 
at  or  near  Kustam,  between  Mardan 
and  the  AnibCla  Pass  {The  Hates  of 


India,  p.   106).     But  that  position 
seems  to  me  to  be  too  far  south. 
-  A.Tr\sin,  Anah,  iv,  2H;  Diodorus, 


EMBOLIMA 


57 


Before  undertaking  the  siege  of  this  formidable  stronghold,  Prelirain- 
Alexander  with  his  habitual  foresight,  secured  his   rear  by  ^pg^^, 
placing  garrisons  in  the  towns  of  Ora,  Massaga,  Bazira,  and  tions. 
Orobatis,  in  the  hills  of  Suwat  and  Buner. 

He  further  isolated  the  fortress  by  personally  marching 
down  into  the  plains,  probably  through  the  Shahkot  Pass,^ 
and  receiving  the  submission  of  the  important  city  of  Peuke- 
laotis  (Charsadda),  and  tiic  surrounding  territory,  now  known 
as  the  Yusufzi  country.  During  this  operation  he  was  assisted 
by  two  local  chiefs.  He  then  made  his  way  somehow  to 
Embolima,  a  small  town  on  the  Indus,  at  the  foot  of  Aornos, 
and  there  established  a  depot  under  the  command  of  Krateros. 
In  case  the  assault  should  fail,  and  the  siege  be  converted 
into   a  blockade,   this    depot  Mas   intended   to   serve   as  a 


xviii,  86  ;  Curtius,  viii,  11 ;  Strabo, 
XV,  8.  Different  people  will  neces- 
sarily form  different  notions  of  the 
circuit  of  a  mountain  mass,  as 
they  include  or  exclude  subsidiary 
ranges  ;  but  the  estimate  of  Dio- 
dorus  that  the  circuit  was  100 
stadia,  or  11|  miles,  probably  is 
nearer  the  truth  than  Arrian's  esti- 
mate of  200  stadia.  On  the  other 
hand,  Arrian  guesses  the  minimum 
elevation  as  being  11  stadia,  or 
nearly  6,700  feet,  which  is  a  more 
reasonable  figure  than  the  16  sta- 
dia of  Diodorus.  All  attempts  to 
identify  the  position  of  Aornos  have 
failed.  The  plausible  identification 
with  Mahaban  was  shattered  by 
Sir  M.  A.  Stein's  exploration,  as  re- 
corded in  the  Report  of  Archaeol. 
Survey  Work  in  the  iV.  W.  Frontier 
Province,  Sj-c,  for  1904-5.  It  is  diflS- 
cult  to  believe  that  the  Greek  au- 
thors can  have  been  mistaken  in 
placing  this  fortress  on  the  Indus. 
The  Greek  commanders  were 
familiar  with  that  river,  which 
they  were  engaged  in  bridging. 
The  Mahaban  site  fails  to  satisfy 
the  conditions,  not  only  for  the 
reasons  stated  by  Sir  M.  A.  Stein,  but 
also  because,  according  to  Curtius 
(Bk.  viii,  ch.  12),  Alexander,  after 
leaving  Embolima,  which  was  not 
far  from  Aornos,  did  not  reach  the 
Indus  until  he  had  made  sixteen 
encampments.    That  statement  im- 


plies a  marching  distance  of  at  least 
70  or  80  miles  even  in  difficult  coun- 
try. I  agree  with  Sir  Bindon  Blood 
that  Aornos  must  be  looked  for  on 
the  Indus,  higher  up  than  Maha- 
ban, and  perhaps  near  Baio,  which 
is  beyond  the  sharp  bend  above 
Kotkai.  We  must  remember  that 
the  Indus  washed  the  southern  face 
of  the  stronghold  (see  Holdich,  7'he 
Gates  of  India,  p.  121\  I  think  it 
probable  that  Alexander  may  have 
marched  back  through  the  Ambela 
Pass,  and  then  turned  at  or  near 
Rustam  towards  the  river.  He 
must  certainly  have  taken  a  wide 
circuit.  Mr.  Merk  does  not  accept 
the  evidence  that  Aornos  was  on 
the  Indus,  and  would  look  for  it  in 
Suwat  (Swat)  (/.  Boy.  Soc.  of  Arts, 
1911,  p.  760). 

Earlier  speculations  on  the  subject 
will  be  found  recorded  in  Appendix 
D  of  the  second  edition  of  this 
work.  It  is  not  now  necessary  to 
reprint  that  disquisition. 

^  The  ancient  route,  as  followed 
by  Hiuen  Tsang,  '  est  celle  qui 
montait  de  Po-lou-cha  au  Svat  par 
la  passe  de  Shahkote,  THatthi-lar, 
ou  *'  defile  des  elephants "  des  in- 
digenes actuels,  et  le  col  le  plus 
important  de  ces  montagnes,  avant 
qu'en  1895  les  Anglais  n'eussent 
choisi  le  Malakand  pour  y  faire 
passer  leur  route  stratcgique  du 
Chitral'  (Foucher,  op.  cit.,  p.  40). 


58 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Recon- 
naissance, 


Construc- 
tion of 
approach. 


Evacua- 
tion by 
garrison. 


base  for  protracted  operations  should  such  prove  to  be 
necessary. 

Having  thus  dehberately  made  his  dispositions  for  the 
siege,  Alexander  spent  two  days  in  careful  personal  recon- 
naissance of  the  position  with  the  aid  of  a  small  force,  chiefly 
consisting  of  light-armed  troops.  Assisted  by  local  guides, 
whose  services  were  secured  by  liberal  reward,  Ptolemy,  the 
son  of  Lagos,  secured  a  valuable  foothold  on  the  eastern  spur 
of  the  mountain,  where  he  entrenched  his  men.  An  attempt 
made  by  the  king  to  support  him  having  been  frustrated, 
this  failure  led  to  a  vigorous  attack  by  the  Indians  on 
Ptolemy's  entrenchments,  which  was  repulsed  after  a  hard 
fight. 

A  second  effort  made  by  Alexander  to  effect  a  junction 
Mith  his  lieutenant, although  stoutly  opposed  by  the  besieged, 
was  successful ;  and  the  Macedonians  were  now  in  secure 
possession  of  the  vantage-ground  from  which  an  assault  on 
the  natural  citadel  could  be  delivered. 

The  task  before  the  assailants  was  an  arduous  one,  for 
the  crowning  mass  of  rock  did  not,  like  most  eminences, 
slope  gradually  to  the  summit,  but  rose  abruptly  in  the  form 
of  a  steep  cone.  Examination  of  the  ground  showed  that 
a  direct  attack  was  impossible  until  some  of  the  surrounding 
ravines  should  be  filled  up.  Plenty  of  timber  being  available 
in  the  adjoining  forests,  Alexander  resolved  to  use  this 
material  to  form  a  pathway.  He  himself  threw  the  first 
trunk  into  the  ravine,  and  his  act  was  greeted  with  a  loud 
cheer  signifying  the  keenness  of  the  troops,  who  could  not 
shrink  from  any  labour,  however  severe,  to  which  their  king 
was  the  first  to  put  his  hand. 

Within  the  brief  space  of  four  days  Alexander  succeeded 
in  gaining  possession  of  a  small  hill  on  a  level  with  the  rock, 
and  in  thus  securing  a  dominant  position.  The  success  of 
this  operation  convinced  the  garrison  that  the  capture  of  the 
citadel  was  merely  a  question  of  time,  and  negotiations  for 
capitulation  on  terms  were  begun. 

The  besieged,  being  more  anxious  to  gain  time  for  escape 
than  to  conclude  a  treaty,  evacuated   the  rock  during  the 


AORNOS  59 

night,  and  attempted  to  slip  away  unobserved  in  the  darkness. 
But  the  unsleeping  vigilance  of  Alexander  detected  the 
movement,  and  partially  defeated  their  plans.  Placing 
himself  at  the  head  of  700  picked  men,  he  clambered  up  the 
cliff  the  moment  the  garrison  began  to  retire  and  slew  many. 

In  this  way  the  virgin  fortress,  which  even  Herakles  had  Mace- 
failed  to  M'in,  became  the  prize  of  Alexander.     The   king,  ^°"'f*" 
,  '■  *    garrison 

justly  proud  of  his  success,  offered  sacrifice  and  worship  to  posted, 
the  gods,  dedicated  altars  to  Athene  and  Nike,  and  built 
a  fort  for  the  accommodation  of  the  garrison  which  he 
quartered  on  the  mountain.  The  command  of  this  important 
post  was  entrusted  to  Sisikottos  (Sasigupta),  a  Hindu,  who 
long  before  had  deserted  from  the  Indian  contingent  attached 
to  the  army  of  Bessus,  the  rebel  satrap  of  Bactria,  and  had 
since  proved  himself  a  faithful  officer  in  the  Macedonian 
service. 

Alexander  then  proceeded  to  complete  the  subjugation  of  Advance 
the  Assakenians  by  another  raid  into  their  country,  and  *°  Indus, 
occupied  a  town  named  Dyrta,  which  probably  lay  to  the 
north  of  Aornos.  This  town  and  the  surrounding  district 
were  abandoned  by  the  inhabitants,  who  had  crossed  the 
Indus,  and  taken  refuge  in  the  Abhisara  country,  in  the 
hills  between  the  Hydaspes  (Jihlam)  and  Akesines  (Chinab) 
rivers.^  He  then  slowly  forced  his  way  through  the  forests 
down  to  the  bridge-head  at  Ohind.  Although  the  direct 
distance  could  not  be  great,  the  work  of  clearing  a  road 
passable  for  an  army  was  so  arduous  that  fifteen  or  sixteen 
marches  were  required  to  reach  Hephaestion^s  camp.^ 

'  Various    attempts  to   identify  tion  of  the  term  to  the  lower  hills '. 

Dyrta    have   been    made    without  The  small  chieftainship  of  Rajaurl 

success.     The  position  of  Abhisara,  and  Bhimbhar,  the  ancient  Abhi- 

or  '  the  kingdom  of  Abisares  ',  was  sara,  is   now  included  within   the 

correctly  defined  for  the  first  time  limits   of   the   Kashmir    State,   as 

by  Sir  M.  A.  Stein,  who  writes  that  defined  in  recent  times.     Abhisara 

*  Darvabhisara     [i.  e.     Darva    and  used  to  be   erroneously  identified 

Abhisara]    comprised    the    whole  with   the   Kazara   District,   which 

tract  of  the  lower  and  middle  hills  really  corresponds  with  Ura^a,  or 

lying  between  the  Vitasta  (Jihlam  the    kingdom    of   Arsakes   (Stein, 

or  Hydaspes)  and  the  Candrabhaga  lidjatarang'mi,  transl.,  Bk.  i,  180; 

(Chinab  or  Akesines)  .  .  .  The  hill-  v,   217  ;   and  McCrindle,  op.    cit., 

state  of  Rajapuri  (Rajaurl)  was  in-  p.  375).     The  line  of  march  from 

eluded  in  Darvabhisara  .  .  .  One  Aornos  is  not  known, 
passage  would  restrict  the  applica-  ^  Curtius  (vii,  12;  is  the  authority 


60  ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 

Bridge  at        Opinions    have   differed    concerning   the   location    of   the 

Ohind.        bridge  over  the  Indus^,  and  most  writers  have  heen  inclined 

to  place  it  at  Attock  (Atak),  where  the  river  is  narrowest. 

But  the  investigations  of  M.  Foucher  have  clearly  established 

the  fact  that  the  bridge^  presumably  constructed  of  boats, 

must  have  been  at  Ohind  or  Und,  16  miles  above  Attock. 

January,    Having  arrived  at  the  bridge-head,  Alexander  sacrificed  to 

Fh"  '^'  r   ^^^  gods  on  a  magnificent  scale,  and  gave  his  army  thirty 

3:26  H.  c.      days  of   much  needed  rest,  amusing  them  with  games  and 

gymnastic  contests.^ 
Embassy  At  Ohind  Alexander  was  met  by  an  embassy  from  Ambhi 
Tax^la  (Oniphis),^  who  had  then  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Taxila, 
the  great  city  three  marches  beyond  the  Indus.  The  lately 
deceased  king  had  met  the  invader  in  the  previous  year  at 
Nikaia  and  tendered  the  submission  of  his  kingdom.  This 
tender  was  now  renewed  on  behalf  of  his  son  by  the  embassy, 
and  was  supported  by  a  contingent  of  700  horse  and  the 
gift  of  valuable  supplies  comprising  thirty  elephants,  3,000 
fat  oxen,  more  than  10,000  sheep,  and  200  talents  of  silver. 

The  ready  submission  of  the  rulers  of  Taxila  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  they  desired  Alexander's  help  against  their 
enemies  in  the  neighbouring  states.  At  that  moment  Taxila 
was  at  war  both  with  the  hill  kingdom  of  Abhisara,  and  with 
the  more  powerful  state  governed  by  the  king  whom  the 
Greeks  called  Poros,  approximately  coincident  with  the 
modern  districts  of  Jihlam,  Gujarat,  and  Shfihpur.^ 

for  the  fifteen  or  sixteen  marches.  Peshawar  and  Mardan ;  the  San- 

His  words  are  :   '  Having  left  this  skrit    name    was    Udabhandapura 

pass   (?  Ambela],  he  arrived  after  (Cunningham,  Ancient  Oeoyraphy, 

the  sixteenth  encampment  at  the  p.  .V2  ;  Stein,  7?rt/rj<,  transl.,ii,  336  ; 

river  Indus  '.  Foucher,  op.  cit.,  p.  46,  with  maps). 

1  Arrian,   v,  3  ;    Diodorus,   xvii.  Major  Raverty  considers  Uhand  to 

86.      The    ancient    road  to   India  be   the  correct  spelhng,  and  this 

from  the  Kabul  river  valley  followed  form  is  the  nearest  to  the  Sanskrit, 

a  circuitous   route  through   Puru-  _  •^  The  restoration   of   the   name 

shapura  (Peshawar),  PushkalavatI  Ambhi  is  due  to  M.  Sylvain  L^vi 

(Peukelaotis\    Hoti    Mardan,    and  {Journal  Asiatique,  for  I'lidO,^.  ^'.ii). 

Shahbazgarhi    (Po-lu-sha    of    the  ^  Curtius,  viii,  12.     The  country 

Chinese),  to  Und  or  Ohind.     The  of  Poros  lay  between  the  Hydaspes 

direct   route   to   Attock  has   been  (Jihlam)  and  the  Akesincs(Chinab), 

made  practicable  only  in  modern  and  contained  300  towns  (Strabo, 

times.      Und  is  the  pronunciation  xv,  29),     The  Indian  form  of  the 

of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  which  name  or  title  transcribed  as  Poros 

is  called  Ohind  by  the  people  of  by  the  Greeks  is  not  known.     The 


TAXILA  61 

Spring  had  now  begun,  and  the  omens  being  favourable,  February 
the    refreshed    army    began    the    i)assage    of   the    river   one  J?'!,!^^'^''^"' 

^  .  .  .  -^^b  II.  c. 

morning  at  daybreak ;    and,  with  the  help  of    the  Taxilan  Passage 
king,  safely  effected  entrance  on  the  soil  of  India,  which  no     ^"^"s- 
European  traveller  or  invader  had  ever  before  trodden.^ 

A  curious  incident  marked  the  last  day's  march  to  Taxila.  Curious 
When  four  or  five  miles  from  the  city  Alexander  was  startled  incident, 
to  see  a  complete  army  in  order  of  battle  advancing  to  meet 
him.  He  supposed  that  ti'eacherous  opposition  was  about  to 
be  offered,  and  had  begun  to  make  arrangements  to  attack 
the  Indians,  when  Ambhi  galloped  forward  with  a  few 
attendants  and  explained  that  the  display  of  force  was 
intended  as  an  honour,  and  that  his  entire  army  was  at 
Alexander's  disposal.  When  the  misunderstanding  had  been 
removed  the  Macedonian  force  continued  its  advance  and  was 
entertained  at  the  city  with  royal  magnificence. 

Taxila,  now  represented  by  more  than  twelve  square  miles  Taxila. 
of  ruins  to  the  north-west  of  Rawalpindi  and  the  south-east 
of  Hasan  Abdal,  was  then  one  of  the  greatest  cities  of  the 
east,  and  was  famous  as  the  principal  seat  of  Hindu  learning 
in  Northern  India,  to  which  scholars  of  all  classes  flocked  for 
instruction,  especially  in  the  medical  sciences.^ 

guess  that  it  might  be  Paurava  is  magnificence  on  the  6th  of  Feb- 

not  convincing.  ruary'  {Ind.  Ant.,   1905,  p.   2j7). 

^  The  chronology  is  determined  The  rain  at  Taxila  must  have  been 

by  Strabo,  xv,  17,  who  states,  on  due  to  a  passing  storm,  because  the 

the  authority  of  Aristoboulos,  the  regular  rainy  season  does  not  begin 

companion  and  historian  of  Alex-  before  June. 

ander,  that  '  they  remained  in  the  ^  The  name  is  given  by  the  Greek 

mountainous  country  belonging  to  and     Roman    authors     as    Taxila 

the    Aspasioi    and    to    Assakanos  (Td£(Aa),  which  is  a  close  transcrip- 

during  the  winter.     In  the  begin-  tion  of  the  Pali  or  Prakrit  Takkasi- 

ning  of  spring  they  descended  to  la.     The  Sanskrit  form  is  Taksha- 

the   plains  and  the  great  city  of  ^ila.   The  ruins  at  Shahdheri,  eight 

Taxila,  whence   they  went  on   to  miles  south-east  of  Hasan  Abdal, 

the    Hydaspes    and    the    land    of  and   in   the   surrounding   villages, 

Poros.      During   the   winter   they  have  been  roughly  surveyed  and 

saw  no  rain,  but  only  snow.     Rain  described  by  Cunningham  (/?ejL»or/s, 

fell  for  the  first  time  while  they  ii,  111-51),  but  deserve  more  sys- 

were  at  Taxila'.     The  passage  of  tematic     and    detailed     exaraina- 

the  Indus  must  therefore  be  dated  tion,  which  the  Archaeological  De- 

in   February,  or  at  the  latest,  in  partment  has  begun.     The  results 

March,  326  b.  c.    Mr.  Pearson  notes  of  three   months'   exploration   are 

that 'when  Burnes  was  with  Ranj  it  described  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Marshall, 

Singh    at  Lahore,   the  festival   of  C.  I.E.,  in  a  lecture  entitled 'Archae- 

spring  was  celebrated  with  lavish  ological  Discoveries  at  Taxila ',  de- 


62 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Submis- 
sion of 
Ambhi. 


Ambhi  recognized  Alexander  as  his  lord^  and  received 
from  him  investiture  as  lawful  successor  of  his  deceased 
father  the  king  of  Taxila.  In  return  for  the  favour  shown 
to  him  by  the  invader,  he  provided  the  Macedonian  army 
with  liberal  supplies,  and  presented  Alexander  with  eighty 
talents  of  coined  silver  ^  and  golden  crowns  for  himself  and 
all  his  friends.  Alexander,  not  to  be  outdone  in  generosity, 
returned  the  presents,  and  bestowed  on  the  donor  a  thousand 
talents  from  the  spoils  of  war,  along  with  many  banqueting 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  a  vast  quantity  of  Persian  drapery, 
and  thirty  chargers  caparisoned  as  when  ridden  by  himself. 
This  lavish  generosity,  although  displeasing  to  Alexander's 
Macedonian  officers,  probably  was  prompted  more  by  policy 
than  by  sentiment.  It  purchased  a  contingent  of  5,000  men, 
and  secured  the  fidelity  of  a  most  useful  ally  (Q.  Curtius, 
viii,  12 ;  Diodorus,  xvii,  86 ;  Arrian,  v.  8). 


livered  before  the  Panjab  Historical 
Society  on  Sept.  4,  1913.  The 
remains  include  those  of  three 
distinct  cities,  namely,  Bir — Mau- 
rya  and  pre-Maurya ;  Sir  Kap — 
Indo-Greek,  Parthian,  and  Kad- 
phises  I ;  and  Sir  vSukh— of  the  time 
of  Kanishka.  The  stratification 
proves  conclusively  both  that  Kan- 
ishka was  later  than  the  Parthian 
and  Kadphises  kings,  and  that  he 
lived  in  the  first  or  second  century 
after  Christ.  The  remains,  so  far 
as  known,  seem  to  be  Buddhist, 
but  the  vestiges  of  many  pre-Bud- 
dhist  edifices  probably  remain  un- 
derground. The  Buddhist  estab- 
lishments were  in  a  state  of  decay 
when  the  Chinese  traveller  Hiuen 
Tsang  visited  them  in  the  seventh 
century  (Beal,  i,  136-43 ;  Watters, 
i,  240),  and  the  kingdom  was  then 
tributary  to  Kashmir.  The  Jataka 
stories  are  full  of  references  to  the 
fame  of  Taxila  as  a  university  town, 
e.g.  vol.  ii  (Rouse's  transl.),  2,  32, 
.59,  &c.  The  Suslma  Jataka  places  it 
in  the  kingdom  of  Gandhara,  i.  e.  of 
Peukelaotis  and  Peshawar.  Most  of 
the  Jatakas  probably  are  anterior 
to  Alexander's  time.  The  romantic 
history  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  by 
Philostratus,  gives  many  details 
about  Taxila  in  the  first  century  of 


the  Christian  era,  which  would  be 
extremely  interesting  if  confidence 
could  be  felt  in  the  truth  of  the 
alleged  facts  (Philliraore's  transl., 
Oxford,  1912,  Bk.  II,  chap.  20-42). 
Prof.  Flinders  Petrie  believes  in  the 
reality  of  the  Indian  journey  of 
Apollonius,  and  dates  it  in  a.  d. 
43-4  (Personal  Religion  in  Egypt, 
1909,  p.  141). 

^  This  '  coined  '  or  '  stamped  ' 
silver  (sigimtum  argentum)  probably 
consisted  of  the  little  flat  ingots 
known  to  numismatists  as  '  punch- 
marked'  pieces,  because  they  are 
not  struck  with  a  die,  but  are 
marked  irregularly  by  small  punches 
of  various  patterns  applied  at  dif- 
ferent times.  For  accounts  of  this 
curious  coinage,  which  was  used 
throughout  India,  see  Rapson,  In- 
dian Coin.s,  §§  4-6 ;  Cunningham, 
Coins  of  Ancient  India,  pp.  54-60, 
pi.  I  and  II,  1,  2;  and  Catal.  of 
Coins  in  the  Indian  Museum,  vol.  I, 
pp.  131-42.  The  punch-marked 
coins  follow  the  monetary  system  of 
the  Achaemenian  dynasty  of  Persia 
(.558-330  n. c),  as  proved  by  Mon- 
sieur J.  A.  Decourdemanches  [J. 
As.,  Jan.-Fev.  1912,  pp.  117-32). 
The  early  rojiper  coinage  of  Taxila 
is  described  in  the  works  cited. 


ADVANCE  TO  HYDASPES  63 

While  Alexander  was  at  Taxila,  the  hill  chieftain  of  Raja  of 
Abhisara,  who  really  intended  to  join  Poros  in  repelling  the  ^^^  p^^^g 
invader  (Diodorus,  xvii,  87),  sent  envoys  who  professed  to 
surrender  to  Alexander  all  that  their  master  possessed. 
This  mission  was  favourably  received,  and  Alexander  hoped 
that  Poros  would  display  complaisance  equal  to  that  of  his 
ally.  But  a  summons  sent  requiring  him  to  do  homage  and 
pay  tribute  was  met  with  the  proud  answer  that  he  would 
indeed  come  to  his  frontier  to  meet  the  invader,  but  at  the 
head  of  an  army  ready  for  battle. 

Having  stayed  in  his  comfortable  quarters  at  Taxila  for  Advance 
sufficient  time  to  rest  his  army  (Diodorus,  xvii,  87),  Alex-  ^?  ^~ 
ander    led    his   forces,    now    strengthened   by   the    Taxilan  April, 
contingent  and  a  small  number  of  elephants,  eastward  to 
meet  Poros,   who  was  known  to    be  awaiting  him  on   the 
farther  bank  of  the  Hydaspes  (Jihlam)  river.     The  march 
from   Taxila   to    Jihlam    on    the    Hydaspes,   in    a    south- 
easterly    direction,    a    distance     of     about     100     or     110 
miles,  according  to  the   route  followed,  brought  the  army 
over  difficult  ground  and   probably  occupied  a   fortnight.^ 
The   hot   season  was  at  its  height,  but   to   Alexander   all 
seasons  were  equally  fit  for  campaigning,  and  he  led   his 
soldiers  on  and  on  from  conquest  to  conc^uest,  regardless  of 
the  snows  of  the  mountains  and  the  scorching  heat  of  the 
plains.     He  arrived  at  Jihlam  early  in  May,  and  found  the  May, 
river  already  flooded  by  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  the  hills.        ^'^' 
The  boats  which  had  served  for  the  passage  of  the  Indus, 
having  been  cut  into  sections  and  transported  on  wagons  to 
be  rebuilt  on  the  bank  of  the  Hydaspes,  were  again  utilized 
for  the  crossing  of  that  river  (Arrian,  v,  8). 

In  spite  of  the  most  elaborate  preparations,  the  problem  of  Prepara- 
the  passage  of  the  Hydaspes  in  the  face  of  a  superior  force  passage  of 
could  not  be  solved  without  minute  local  knowledge ;   and  river. 

^  Alexander  must  have  marched  may    have     utilized     both     roads, 

either  by  the  northern  road  through  After  his  arrival  at  the  river  bank 

the  Bakrala  Pass,  past  Rohtas,  to  he  was  free  to  choose  his  battle- 

Jihlam  ;   or  by  the  road  20  miles  ground(Pearson, 'Alexander,  Porus 

farther  south  through  the  Bunhar  and  the  Panjab,'  Ind.  Ant.,  1905, 

Pass    to    Jalalpur.       Possibly    he  p.  253,  with  map). 


of  boats. 


64-  ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 

Alexander  was  compelled  to  defer  his  decision  as  to  the  best 
feasible  solution  mitil  he  should  have  acquired  the  necessary 
acquaintance  with  all  the  local  conditions.  On  his  arrival, 
he  found  the  army  of  Poros,  fifty  thousand  strong,  drawn 
up  on  the  opposite  bank.  It  was  obvious  that  the  horses  of 
the  cavalry,  the  arm  upon  which  the  Macedonian  commander 
placed  his  reliance,  could  not  be  induced  to  clamber  up  the 
bank  of  a  flooded  river  in  the  face  of  a  host  of  elephants,  and 
that  some  device  for  evading  this  difficulty  must  be  sought. 
Provision  Alexander,  therefore,  resolved,  in  the  words  of  Arrian,  to 
'  steal  a  passage  \  The  easiest  plan  would  have  been  for  the 
invader  to  wait  patiently  in  his  lines  until  October  or 
November,  when  the  waters  M'ould  subside  and  the  river 
might  become  fordable.  Although  such  dilatory  tactics  did 
not  commend  themselves  to  the  impetuous  spirit  of  Alex- 
ander, he  endeavoured  to  lull  the  vigilance  of  the  enemy  by 
the  public  announcement  that  he  intended  to  await  the 
change  of  season,  and  gave  a  colour  of  truth  to  the  declara- 
tion by  employing  his  troops  in  foraging  expeditions  and 
the  collection  of  a  great  store  of  provisions.  At  the  same 
time  his  flotilla  of  boats  continually  moved  up  and  down  the 
river,  and  frequent  reconnaissances  were  made  in  search  of 
a  ford.  ^All  this,'  as  Arrian  observes,  'prevented  Poros 
from  resting  and  concentrating  his  preparations  at  any  one 
point  selected  in  preference  to  any  other  as  the  best  for 
defending  the  passage'  (v,  9).  Rafts,  galleys,  and  smaller 
boats  were  secretly  prepared  and  hidden  away  among  the 
woods  and  islands  in  the  upper  reaches  of  the  river.  These 
preliminaries  occupied  six  or  seven  weeks,  during  which  time 
the  rains  had  broken,  and  the  violence  of  the  flood  had 
increased.  Careful  study  of  the  ground  had  convinced  Alex- 
ander that  the  best  chance  of  crossing  in  safety  was  to  be  found 
near  a  sharp  bend  in  the  river  about  16  miles  marching 
distance  above  his  camp,  at  a  point  where  his  embarkation 
would  be  concealed  by  a  bluff  and  an  island  covered  with 
forest.  Having  arrived  at  this  decision,  Alexander  acted 
upon  it,  not  only,  as  Arrian  justly  remarks,  with  '  marvellous 
audacity ',  but  with  consummate  prudence  and  precaution. 


NIGHT  MARCH  65 

He  left  Krateros  with  a  considerable  force,  iiicliuliiig  the  Beginning' 
Taxilaii  contingent  of  5,000  men,  to  guard  the  camp  near  315  jj^.' 
Jihlam,  and  supplied  him  with  precise  instructions  as  to  the  Reserve 
manner  in  wliich  he  shouhl  use  tliis  reserve  force  to  support 
the  main  attack.     Half-way  between  the  standing  camp  and 
the  chosen  crossing-place  three  generals  were  stationed  with 
the  mercenary  cavalry  and  infantry,  and  had  orders  to  cross 
the  river  as  soon  as  they  should  perceive  the  Indians  to  be 
fairly  engaged  in  action.     All  sections  of  the  army  were  kept 
in  touch  by  a  chain  of  sentries  posted  along  the  bank. 

When  all  these  precautionary  arrangements  had  been  Night 
completed,  Alexander  in  person  took  command  of  a  picked  ™'^^^  * 
force  of  about  11,000  or  12,000  men,  including  the  foot 
guards,  hypaspist  infantry,  mounted  archers,  and  5,000 
cavalry  of  various  kinds,  with  which  to  effect  the  passage. 
In  order  to  escape  observation,  he  marched  by  night  at  some 
distance  from  the  bank,  and  his  movements  were  further 
concealed  by  a  violent  storm  of  rain  and  thunder  which 
broke  during  the  march.  He  arrived  unperceived  at  the  ap- 
pointed place  and  found  the  fleet  of  galleys,  boats,  and  rafts 
in  readiness.  The  enemy  had  no  suspicion  of  what  was 
happening  until  the  fleet  appeared  in  the  open  river  beyond 
the  wooded  island,  and  Alexander  disembarked  his  force  at 
daybreak  without  opposition.  But  when  he  had  landed,  he 
was  disappointed  to  find  that  yet  another  deep  channel  lay 
in  front,  which  must  be  crossed.  With  much  difficulty 
a  ford  was  found,  and  the  infantry  struggled  through  breast 
deep  in  the  stream,  while  the  horses  swam  with  only  their 
heads  above  water.  The  sole  practicable  road  from  the 
camp  of  Poros  involved  a  wide  detour,  which  rendered 
prompt  opposition  impossible,  and  Alexander  was  able  to 
deploy  his  dripping  troops  on  the  mainland  before  any 
attempt  could  be  made  to  stop  him. 

Then,  when  it  was  too  late,  the  son  of  the  Indian  king  The 
came  hurrying  up  with  2,000  horse  and  120  chariots.     This  geid*^ 
inadequate  force  was  speedily  routed  with  the  loss  of  400 
killed,   and   of  all  the  chariots.      Fugitives  carried  the  dis- 
astrous news  to  the  camp  of  Poros,  who  moved  out  with  the 


66  ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 

bulk  of  his  army  to  give  battle,  leaving  a  guard  to  protect  his 

baggage  against  Krateros,  who  lay  in  wait  on  the  opposite 

bank.     The   Indian    army   deployed    on    the    only   ground 

available,  the  plain  now  kno\\n  as  Karri,  girdled  on  the  north 

and  east  by  low  hills,  and  about  5  miles  in  width  at  its  broadest 

part.     The  surface  was  a  firm  sandy  soil  well  adapted  for 

military  movements  even  in  the  rainy  season. 

Thp  A  stately  force  it  was  with  which  the  Indian  monarch 

Indian       moved  forth  to  defend    his   country   against  the   audacious 
array.  _  ''       ^ 

invader    from    the    west.      Two    hundred    huge    elephants, 

stationed  at  inter\'als  of  not  less  than  a  hundred  feet  from 
one  another,  and  probably  in  eight  ranks,  formed  the  front 
in  the  centre.^  The  chief  reliance  of  Poros  was  on  these 
monsters  \\ho  would,  it  was  calculated,  terrify  the  foreign 
soldiers  and  render  the  dreaded  cavalry  vmmanageable.  Be- 
hind the  elephants  stood  a  compact  force  of  30,000  infantry 
with  projections  on  the  wings,  and  files  of  the  infantry  were 
pushed  forward  in  the  intervals  between  the  elephants,  so 
that  the  Indian  army  presented  '  very  much  the  appearance 
of  a  city — the  elephants  as  they  stood  resembling  its  towers, 
and  the  men-at-arms  placed  between  them  resembling 
the  lines  of  Avail  intervening  between  tower  and  tower' 
(Diodorus,  xvii,  87).  Both  flanks  were  protected  by  cavalry 
with  chariots  in  front.  The  cavalry  numbered  4,000  and  the 
chariots  300.  Each  chariot  was  drawn  by  four  horses,  and 
carried  six  men,  of  whom  two  were  archers,  stationed  one  on 
each  side  of  the  vehicle,  two  were  shield-bearers,  and  two 
were  charioteers,  who  in  the  stress  of  battle  were  M'ont  to 
drop  the  reins  and  ply  the  enemy  with  darts  (Q.  Curtius, 
viii,  14). 
Indian  The  infantry  were  all  armed  with  a  broad  and  heavy  two- 

menr  handed  sword,  and  a  long  buckler  of  undressed  ox-hide.  In 
addition  to  these  arms  each  man  carried  either  javelins  or 
a  bow.     The  bow  is  described  as  being 

'  made  of  equal  length  with  the  man  who  bears  it.     This 

'  See  plan  of  the  battle.     The  indebted  for  it  to  my  eldest  son, 

number  of  ranks  is  determined  by  who    has    plotted    the    details    to 

the  Hmitation  of  space.     The  plan  scale, 
shows  exactly  200  elephants.    I  am 


THE      BATTLEFIELD     OF 

THE   HYDASPES 

B.C.  326. 


A    R     R    I  '"'/&, 

PLAIN  _     _ 

dSIRWALI  ^I;? 

V-i.\  BATTLEFIELD  ^^^? 


68 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Alex- 
ander's 
tactics. 


First 
stage  of 
battle. 


they  rest  upon  the  ground,  and  pressing  against  it  with  their 
left  foot  thus  discharge  the  arrow  having  drawn  the  string 
backwards :  for  the  shaft  they  use  is  little  short  of  being 
three  yards  long,  and  there  is  nothing  which  can  resist  an 
Indian  archer's  shot — neither  shield  nor  breastplate,  nor  any 
stronger  defence,  if  such  there  be'  (Arrian,  Indika,  ch.  xvi). 

But  great  as  was  the  power  of  the  Indian  bow,  it  was  too 
cumbrous  to  meet  the  attack  of  the  mobile  Macedonian 
cavalry.  The  slippery  state  of  the  surface  prevented  the 
archers  from  resting  the  end  of  their  weapons  firmly  on  the 
ground,  and  Alexander's  horse  were  able  to  deliver  their 
charge  before  the  bowmen  had  completed  their  adjustments 
(Q.  Curtius,  viii,  14).  The  Indian  horsemen,  each  of  whom 
carried  two  javelins  and  a  buckler,  were  far  inferior  in  per- 
sonal strength  and  military  discipline  to  Alexander's  men 
(Arrian,  Anab.  v,  17). 

With  such  force  and  such  equipment  Poros  awaited  the 
attack  of  the  greatest  military  genius  whom  the  world  has 
seen. 

Alexander  clearly  perceived  that  his  small  force  would 
have  no  chance  of  success  in  a  direct  attack  upon  the  enemy's 
centre,  and  resolved  to  rely  on  the  effect  of  a  vigorous  cavalry 
charge  against  the  Indian  left  wing.  The  generals  in 
command  of  the  6,000  infantry  at  his  disposal  were  ordered 
to  play  a  waiting  game,  and  to  take  no  part  in  the  action 
until  they  should  see  the  Indian  foot  and  horse  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  charge  of  cavalry  under  Alexander's  per- 
sonal command. 

He  opened  the  action  by  sending  his  mounted  archers, 
a  thousand  strong,  against  the  left  wing  of  the  Indian  army, 
which  must  have  extended  close  to  the  bank  of  the  river. 
The  archers  discharged  a  storm  of  arrows  and  made  furious 
charges.  They  were  (juickly  followed  by  the  Guards  led  by 
Alexander  himself.  The  Indian  cavalry  on  the  right  wing 
hurried  round  by  the  rear  to  support  their  hard-pressed 
comrades  on  the  left.  But  meantime  two  regiments  of 
horse  connnandcd  by  Koinos,  which  iiad  been  detached  by 
Alexander    for   the    purpose,  swept    past    the    front    of  the 


1^11  E  BATTLE  (59 

immobile  host  of  Poros,  ti^ullopod  round  its  right  wing',  and 
threatened  the  rear  of  tlie  Indian  cavahy  and  chariots. 
While  the  Indian  squadrons  were  endeavouring  to  effect 
a  partial  change  of  front  to  meet  the  impending  onset  from 
the  rear,  they  necessarily  fell  into  a  certain  amount  of  con- 
fusion. Alexander,  seeing  his  opportunity,  seized  the  very 
moment  when  the  enemy^s  horse  were  changing  front,  and 
pressed  home  his  attack.  The  Indian  ranks  on  both  wings 
broke  and  '  fled  for  shelter  to  the  elephants  as  to  a  friendly 
wall'.     Thus  ended  the  first  act  in  the  drama. 

The  elephant  drivers  tried  to  retrieve  the  disaster  by  Second 
urging  their  mounts  against  the  Macedonian  horse,  but  the  ^aufe. 
phalanx,  which  had  now  advanced,  began  to  take  its  de- 
ferred share  in  the  conflict.  The  Macedonian  soldiers  hurled 
showers  of  darts  at  the  elephants  and  their  riders.  The 
maddened  beasts  charged  and  crushed  through  the  closed 
ranks  of  the  phalanx,  impenetrable  to  merely  human  attack. 
The  Indian  horsemen  seized  the  critical  moment,  and,  seeking 
to  revenge  the  defeat  which  they  had  suffered  in  the  first 
stage  of  the  action,  wheeled  round  and  attacked  Alexander's 
cavalry.  But  the  Indians  were  not  equal  to  the  task  which 
they  attempted,  and  being  repulsed,  were  again  cooped  up 
among  the  elephants.  The  second  act  of  the  drama  was 
now  finished. 

The  third  and  last  began  with  a]charge  by  the  Macedonian  Third 
massed  cavalry  which  crashed  into  the  broken  Indian  ranks  ^ata^." 
and  effected  an  awful  carnage.  The  battle  ended  at  the 
eighth  hour  of  the  day  (Plutarch,  Life,  ch.  60)  in  a  scene  of 
murderous  confusion,  which  is  best  described  in  the  words  of 
Arrian,  M'hose  account  is  based  on  that  of  men  who  shared  in 
the  fight. 

'The  elephants,'  he  writes,  'being  now  cooped  up  within  Iloutof 
a  narrow  space,  did  no  less  damage  to  their  friends  than  to  Indians, 
their  foes,  trampling  them  under  tlieir  feet  as  they  wheeled 
and  pushed  about.  There  resulted  in  consequence  a  great 
slaughter  of  the  cavalry,  cooped  up  as  it  was  within  a  narrow 
space  around  the  elephants.  Many  of  the  elephant  drivers, 
moreover,  had  been  shot  down,  and  of  the  elephants  them- 
selves   some    had    been    woimded,  while   others,  both    from 


70  ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 

exhaustion  and  the  loss  of  their  mahouts,  no  longer  kept  to 
their  own  side  of  the  conflict,  but,  as  if  driven  frantic  by 
their  sufferings,  attacked  friend  and  foe  quite  indiscrimin- 
ately, pushed  them,  trampled  them  down,  and  killed  them  in 
all  maimer  of  ways.  But  the  Macedonians,  who  had  a  wide 
and  open  field^  and  could  therefore  operate  as  they  thought 
best,  gave  way  when  the  elephants  charged,  and  when  they 
retreated  followed  at  their  heels  and  plied  them  with  darts ; 
whereas  the  Indians,  mIio  were  in  the  midst  of  the  animals, 
suffered  far  more  from  the  effects  of  their  rage. 

*When  the  elephants,  however,  became  quite  exhausted, 
and  their  attacks  were  no  longer  made  with  \igour,  they 
fell  back  like  ships  backing  water,  and  merely  kept  trumpet- 
ing as  they  retreated  with  their  faces  to  the  enemy.  Then 
did  Alexander  surround  with  his  cavalry  the  whole  of  the 
enemy's  line,  and  signal  that  the  infantrj',  with  their  shields 
linked  together  so  as  to  give  the  utmost  compactness  to  their 
ranks,  should  advance  in  phalanx.  By  this  means  the 
cavalry  of  the  Indians  was,  with  a  few  exceptions,  cut  to 
pieces  in  the  action.  Such  also  was  the  fate  of  the  infantry, 
since  the  Macedonians  were  now  pressing  them  from  every 
side. 

'  Upon  this  all  turned  to  flight  wherever  a  gap  could  be 
found  in  the  cordon  of  Alexander's  cavalry.' 

Capture  Meanwhile,  Krateros  and  the  other  ofiicers  left  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river  had  crossed  over,  and  with  their 
fresh  troops  fell  upon  the  fugitives,  and  wrought  terrible 
slaughter.  The  Indian  army  was  annihilated ;  all  the 
elephants  being  either  killed  or  captured,  and  the  chariots 
destroyed.  Three  thousand  horsemen,  and  not  less  than 
twelve  thousand  foot  soldiers  were  killed,  and  9,000  taken 
prisoners.  The  Macedonian  loss,  according  to  the  highest 
estimate,  did  not  exceed  a  thousand. 

Poros  himself,  a  magnificent  giant,  six  and  a  half  feet  in 
height,  fought  to  the  last,  but  at  last  succumbed  to  nine 
wounds,  and  was  taken  prisoner  in  a  fainting  condition. 

Alexander  had  the  magnanimity  to  respect  his  gallant 
adversary,  and  willingly  responded  to  his  proud  request  to 
be  'treated  as  a  king*^.     The  victor  not  only  confirmed  the 


XIKAIA  AXD  BOUKEPHALA  71 

vanquished  prince  in  the  govenunent  of  his  ancestntl  terri- 
tory, but  added  to  it  other  hinds  of  still  greater  extent :  and 
by  this  politic  generosity  secured  for  the  brief  period  of  his 
stay  in  the  country  a  grateful  and  faithful  friend.* 

The  victory  was  commemorated  by  the  foundation  of  two  Bouke- 
towns ;  one  named  Nikaia.  situated  on  the  battlefield :  and  ^  ' 
the  other,  named  Boukephala,  situated  at  the  point  whence 
Alexander  had  started  to  cross  the  Hydiispes,  The  latter 
was  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Alexander's  famous  charger, 
which  iiail  carried  him  safely  through  so  many  perils,  and 
had  now  at  last  succumbed  to  weariness  and  old  age. 
Boukephala,  by  reason  of  its  position  at  a  ferr\"  on  the  high 
road  from  the  west  to  the  Indian  interior,  became  a  place  of 
such  fame  and  importance  as  to  be  reckoned  by  Plutarch 
among  the  greatest  of  Alexander's  foxmdations.  It  was 
practically  identical  with  the  modern  town  of  Jihlam 
(Jhelum),  and  its  position  is  more  closely  marked  by  the 
extensive  elevated  mound  to  the  west  of  the  existing 
town. 

The  position  of  Nikaia,  which  never  attained  fame,  is  less  Xikaia. 
certain ;    but    probably  should   be  sought  at    the  nllage  of 
Sukhchainpur  to  the  south  of  the  Karri  plain,  the  scene  of 
the  battle.- 

An  interesting  numismatic  memorial  of  the  battle  is  the  Medal 
famous  unique  dekadrachm  in  the  British  Museum.  '  showing  moratinff 
on  one  side  a  Macedonian  horseman  driving  before  Mm  a  the  battle. 

'  For  disputed  questions  con-  was  detemiined,  to  my  satisfaction, 
ceming  the  passaee  of  the  river.  by  Abbott  (.'On  the  Sites  of  Kikaia 
and  the  date  and  site  of  the  battle  and  Boukephala ".  J.  A.  S.  B.,  ISo:?, 
see  App.  D.  E.  Opinions  differ  p.  :?3P.  The  mound  referred  to  is 
concerning  the  exact  nature  of  the  known  locally  as  *  Pindi '.  or  '  the 
movement  of  Koinos :  but  to  me  town ".  and  yields  large  ancient 
the  texts  seem  sufficiently  plain.  bricks  and  numerous  Graec-o- 
A  mobile  cavalry  force  had  no  diffi-  Bactrian  coins.  Boukephala  is 
cultj"  in  riding  across  the  front  of  an  mentioned  in  the  Peutingerian 
army  like  that  of  Poros :  although.  Tables,  by  Pliny  .vi.  :?0).  and  the 
of  course,  such  a  feat  would  be  im-  author  ox  the  Pfriplui  (ch.  47).  as 
possible  if  that  array  had  possessed  well  as  by  Plutarch  Fortune  of 
rifles  andguns.  While Arrian's lucid  -J/AniHJ^r,  Oration  I.  9  .  Cunning- 
description  of  the  battle  has  been  ham's  identincations  of  the  two 
followed  in  the  main,  some  details  towns  are  necessarily  rejected  as 
have  been  taken  from  other  writers.  being  based  upon  the  theorv  that 

*  Arrian  ,v.  :?ii    gives  the  true  the  pjissage  of  the  river  was  elFected 

account  of  the  death   of   Bouke-  at  Jalalpur. 
phalos.     The   site  of   Boukephala 


CONTENTS   OF   PLATE   OF   INDIAN   COINS   AND 
MEDALS   (2)   IN   THE   BRITISH   MUSEUM 


Kin(f. 


Alexander. 


Augustus. 


Kozola  Kadaiihes 
(Kadpliises  1). 


HuvUlika. 

Ditto. 

Tiberius. 


Naliapana,  Ksha. 
liarata  satrap. 

Ch;uihtana,    ^aka 
satrap. 


Budrasimha, 
Saka  .satraj). 

Kmuaragupta  I. 


Torarnana  Huiia. 


Anisuvanuan    of 
Nepal. 


Miliiragula 
lifiiia. 


Bhoja  or  Miliira, 
Gurj.ara-Prati- 
haru,     king     of 
Kanauj. 


A.  standing,  wearing  Pereian 
helmet,  and  holding  thun- 
derbolt.   Mon.  ft.. 


Head  of  Aiigustus. 

Head  of  king,  with  legend  in 
Greek  script. 

Portrait  bust  of  king  ;  legend 
in  modified  Greek  script. 

Ditto. 

Head  of  Tiberius. 


Head  of  satrap,  «  ith  modified 
Greek  legend. 


Head  of  satrap,  with  modi- 
fied Greek  legend. 


Head  of  satrap,  with  traces  of 
corrupt  Greek  legend. 


Head  of  king,  with  date,  ?  119. 


He.ad  of  king  to  1.,  with  date 

•02. 


Winged  lion.  Brahnii  legend, 
iSry-amiavariiM, 


Barbarous  bust  of  king,  with 
name  in  Brahmi  script. 


Boar  incaination  of  Vii-hnu, 
and  .solar  .symbol. 


Horseman        attacking 
elephant  w  ith  ridei-s. 


Refa-tncesand  Remarks. 


Emperor  seated  as  Ponti- 
fex  Maximus. 


Thunderbolt  and  anow-. 
Kharoshthi  version  of 
Greek  legend. 

Sun,  or  star,  moon ; 
chaitya  symbol,  riveror 
snake.  Brahmi  legend 
of  titles  and  name. 

Cha'dya symbol.  Brahmi 
legend  of  name  and 
titles. 

Fantail  peacock.  Brah- 
mi legend  of  name  and 
titles. 

Fantail  peacock.  Brah- 
mi legend  of  name  and 
titles. 

Cow.  Brahmi  legend, 
Kdnuulilii,  'incarna- 
tion of  Kiinia.' 

Rude  bull,  walking  1. 
Legend,  jayatv.  rrink- 
(i.li,  '  victoiy  to  '  the 
bull.' 

Traces  of  Sassaniaii 
tyiie.  Legend^  imper. 
feet,  Sr'riiiad  Adi-vaid- 
hti,  'the  fortunate  pri- 
maeval boar',  a  title 
of  both  Vishnu  and  the 
king. 


Dekadrachm  medal, 
probably  struck  to  com- 
memorate battle  of  Hy- 
da-spes!.  A'm)/(.  CIdoii., 
)WJU,  p.  S,  PI.  i,  8. 

Denarius  ;  for  comim- 
rison  with  No.  3. 

Bronze  imitation  of  No. 
2.  As  Gardner,  C'ntal., 
PI.  XXV,  5. 

Gold.  As  Gardner,  PI. 
xxvii,  16. 

Gold.  As  Gardner,  PI. 
xxvii,  0. 

Denarius  ;  for  compari- 
son with  various  In- 
dian coins. 

Rapson,  B.  M.  Catal., 
No.  243. 


Rapson,  B.  M.  Catal., 
No.  200,  &c.  (=P1.  X, 
J.  B.). 


Rapson,  S.  M.  Catal.,  PI, 
xvii.  No.  911. 


As  Cunningham,  A.  S. 
Rep.,  vol.  ix,  PI.  V,  C, 


6o;,i>-,  Jl/t'(?./iU?<'rt,Pl.  ii. 
11. 


CoiiiK    Anc.    India,   PI. 
xiii.  0. 


As  /.  M.  Cntal.,  vol.  i, 
PI.  xxv,  6. 


As  /.  .V.  Catal.,  vol.  i, 
PI.  xxv,  IS. 


^,.J^^^  ^ 


c ..  ^^ 


.rf?*v"'Si 


lO 


II 


v,».*.-~ 


U 


^ 


Indian  Coins  and  Medals  (2) 


PASSAGE  OF  AKESINES  73 

retreating  elephant  with  its  two  riders,  and  on  the  otiier 
side  a  standing  figure  of  Alexander  holding  a  thunderbolt, 
and  wearing  the  Persian  helmet,  and  with  ^  [' We^avhpov 
Bao-iAews  ?)  in  the  field.  Mr.  Barelay  Head  shows  good 
reason  for  believing  that  this  piece  was  struck  in  India  as 
a  medal  for  presentation  to  Macedonian  officers  who  took 
part  in  the  battle.^ 

Alexander,  having  performed  witii  fitting  splendour  theTheGlau- 
obsequies  of  the  slain,  offered  the  customary  sacrifices,  and  y'ovos  II. 
celebrated  games,  left  Krateros  behind  with  a  portion  of  the 
army,  and  orders  to  fortify  posts  and  maintain  communica- 
tions. The  king  himself,  taking  a  force  of  picked  troops, 
largely  composed  of  cavalry,  invaded  the  country  of  a  nation 
called  Glausai  or  Glaukanikoi,  adjacent  to  the  dominions  of 
Poros.  Thirty-seven  considerable  towns  and  a  multitude  of 
villages,  having  readily  submitted,  were  added  to  the  extensive 
territory  administered  by  Poros.  The  king  of  the  lower 
hills,  who  is  called  Abisares  by  the  Greek  writers,  finding 
resistance  hopeless,  again  tendered  his  submission.  Another 
Poros,  nephew  of  the  defeated  monarch,  and  ruler  of  a  tract 
called  Gandaris,  sent  envoys  promising  allegiance  to  the 
invincible  invader,  and  sundry  independent  tribes  {tQ)v  avro- 
voiiMv  ^\vhS)v)  followed  the  example  of  these  princes. 

Alexander,    moving    in    a    direction    more    easterly    than  Middle 
before,  crossed  the  Akesines  (Chinab)  at  a  point  not  specified,  g^g  "  ^' 
but  certainly  near  the  foot  of  the  hills.     The  passage  of  the  Passage  of 
river,  although  unopposed,  was  difficult   by  reason  of   the 
rapid  current  of  the  flooded  stream,  which  was  3,000  yards 
(15  stadia)  in  width,  and  of  the  large  and  jagged  rocks  with 
which  the  channel  was  bestrewn,  and  on  which  many  of  the 
boats  were  wrecked.^ 

The  king,  having  made  adequate  arrangements  for  supplies,  Passage  of 
reinforcements,  and   the   maintenance   of  communications,  ^^ 

'  See  nntp,  plate  '  Indian   coins  miles  above  Wazlrabad,  where  Mc- 

and  medals,  II,  fig.  1,  and  Num.  Crindle  places  the  crossing.     The 

Chron.,  1906,  p.  8,  pi.  I,  8.  Chinab  has  changed  its  course  very 

^  These  particulars  given  by  Ar-  considerably,  and  lower  down  has 

rian  (v,  20}  clearly  prove  that  the  wandered  over  a  bed  about  30  miles 

Akesines  was  crossed  near  the  in  breadth  (Raverty,  op.  tit.,  313). 
foot  of   the  hill,   some  35  or   30 


74  ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 

continued  liis  advance  eastwards,  pnjbably  passini^  close  to 
tlie  ancient  fortress  of  Sialkot.  Tlie  Ilydraotes  (llfivi)  river 
having  been  crossed  without  difficulty,  Hephaistion  was  sent 
back  in  order  to  reduce  to  obedience  the  younger  Poros,  who 
had  revolted  owing  to  feelings  of  resentment  at  the  excessive 
favour  shown  to  his  uncle  and  enemy. 
The  inde-  Alexander  selected  as  the  adversaries  worthy  of  his  steel 
pendent  ^]^g  more  important  confederacy  of  independent  tribes  which 
was  headed  by  the  Kathaioi,  who  dwelt  upon  the  left  or 
eastern  side  of  the  Hydraotes,  and  enjoyed  the  highest  repu- 
tation for  skill  in  the  art  of  war.  Their  neighbours,  the 
Oxydrakai,  mIio  occupied  the  basin  of  the  Hyphasis,  and  the 
Malloi,  who  were  settled  along  the  lower  course  of  the 
Hydraotes  below  Lahore,  and  were  also  famous  as  brave 
warriors,  intended  to  join  the  tribal  league,  but  had  not 
actually  done  so  at  this  time.  The  Kathaioi  were  now 
supported  only  by  minor  clans,  their  immediate  neighbours, 
and  the  terrible  fate  which  awaited  the  Malloi  was  postponed 
for  a  brief  space.^ 
Pimprama  Oil  the  Second  day  after  the  passage  of  the  Hydraotes, 
Sanjrala  Alexander  received  the  capitulation  of  a  town  named  Pim- 
prama, belonging  to  a  chui  called  Adraistai  by  Arrian  ;  and, 
after  a  day's  rest,  proceeded  to  invest  Sangala,  which  the 
Kathaioi  and  the  allied  tribes  had  selected  as  their  main 
stronghold.  The  tribes  protected  their  camp,  lying  under 
the  shelter  of  a  low  hill,  by  a  triple  row  of  wagons,  and 
offered  a  determined  resistance. 

Meanwhile,  the  elder  Poros  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  for 
the  besiegers  of  five  thousand  troops,  elephants,  and  a  siege 
train ;  but  before  any  breach  in  the  city  wall  had  been 
effected,  the  Macedonians  stormed  the  place  l)y  escalade,  and 
routed  the  allies,  who  lost  many  thousands  killed.  Alexan- 
der's loss  in  killed  was  less  than  a  hundred,  but  twelve  hundred 
of  his  men  were  wounded — an  unusually  large  proportion. 

'  For  the  correct  location  of  the  ,./.  R.  A.  S.,  Oct.,  1903).     See  the 

clans   .see   the  author's   paper  en-  map,   reprinted    from   that   paper, 

titled  '  The  Position  of  the  Autono-  with  a  slight  alteration  of  the  sug- 

mous   Tribes   of   the   Panjab   con-  gested  position  of  the  altars, 
quered  by  Alexander  the  Great' 


THE  TURNING-POINT  75 

Sanguhi  was  razed  to  the  ground,  as  a  pimishnieiit  i'or  tlu> 
stout  resistance  of  its  defenders.^ 

Yet  another  river,  the  liyphasis  (Bias),  hiy  in  the  path  of  Arrival 
the  royal  adventurer,  a\  ho  advanced  to  its  bank,  and  prepared  Hyphasis. 
to  cross,  being  determined  to  subdue  the  nations  beyond. 
These  were  reputed  to  be  chuis  of  bra\e  agriculturists, 
enjoying  an  admirable  system  of  aristocratic  government,  and 
occupying  a  fertile  territory  mcII  supplied  with  elephants  of 
superior  size  and  courage. 

Alexander,  having  noticed  tliat  his  troops  no  longer  Alexan- 
followed  him  with  their  wonted  alacrity,  and  were  indisposed  address 
to  proceed  to  more  distant  adventures,  sought  to  rouse  their 
enthusiasm  by  an  eloquent  address,  in  which  he  recited  the 
glories  of  their  wondrous  conquests  from  the  Hellespont  to 
the  Hyphasis,  and  promised  them  the  dominion  and  riches  of 
all  Asia.  But  his  glowing  words  fell  on  unwilling  ears,  and 
were  received  with  painful  silence,  which  remained  unbroken 
for  a  long  time. 

At  last  Koinos,  the  trusted  cavalry  general,  who  had  led  Reply  of 
the  charge  in  the  battle  with  Poros,  summoned  up  courage  to 
reply,  and  argued  the  expediency  of  fixing  some  limit  to  the 
toils  and  dangers  of  the  army.  He  urged  his  sovereign  to 
remember  that  out  of  the  Greeks  and  Macedonians  who  had 
crossed  the  Hellespont  eight  years  earlier,  some  had  been 
invalided  home,  some  were  unwilling  exiles  in  newly  founded 
cities,  some  were  disabled  by  wounds,  and  others,  the  most 
numerous,  had  perished  by  the  sword  or  disease. 

Few  indeed  were  those  left  to  follow  the  standards ;  and  Septem- 
they  were  weary  wretches,  shattered  in  health,  ragged,  ill-  g^^' ' 

'  Much  nonsense  has  been  written  port  on  Sanc/ala  Tibba,  News  Press, 

about  the  site  of  Sangala(2d77aAa),  Lahore,    190G;     Proc.    A.   S.    />., 

which  was  quite  distinct  from  the  1896,  p.  81  \     The  position  of  San- 

Sakala  of   Hindu   writers   and   of  gala,     which    was    razed    to    the 

Hiuen    Tsang.       The    assumption  ground,     cannot     be     determined 

that  the  two  towns  were  identical  with  precision,  but  it  was  in  the 

led  Cunningham  to  identify  Alex-  Gurdaspur  District.     Sakala,   the 

ander's  Sangala  with  a  petty  mound  capital  of  Mihirakula,  is  represented 

called 'Sangala  Tibba' in  the  Jhang  by  the    modern    Sialkot,   N.    lat. 

District.       The    late    Mr.    C.     J.  3-2°  30',   E.    long.    71°  32'    (Fleet, 

Rodgers  conclusively   proved   this  '  Sakala,'   Actes   du    xlv^    Congris 

identification  to  be  erroneous  {Re-  des  Orientalistes,  tome  I). 


76 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Orders  for 
retreat. 


The 
altars. 


armed,    and    despondent.     He    concluded    his    oration    by 
saying : 

'  Moderation  in  tlie  midst  of  success,  O  king !  is  the 
noblest  of  ^•irtues,  for,  although,  being  at  the  head  of  so 
brave  an  army,  you  hixve  naught  to  dread  from  mortal  foes, 
yet  the  visitations  of  the  Deity  caimot  be  foreseen  or  guarded 
against  by  man  '.^ 

The  words  of  Koinos  were  greeted  with  loud  applause, 
which  left  no  doubt  about  the  temper  of  the  men.  Alex- 
ander, deeply  mortified,  and  unwilling  to  yield^  retired 
within  bis  tent ;  but  emerged  on  the  third  day,  convinced 
that  further  advance  was  impracticable.  The  soothsayers 
judiciously  discovered  that  the  omens  were  unfavourable  for 
the  passage  of  the  river,  and  Alexander,  with  a  heavy  heart, 
gave  orders  for  retreat,  in  September,  326  B.C. 

To  mark  the  farthest  point  of  his  advance,  he  erected 
twelve  huge  altars^  built  of  squared  stone,  and  each  fifty 
cubits  in  height,  dedicated  to  the  twelve  great  gods.  Although 
the  army  had  not  passed  the  river,  these  massive  memorials 
are  alleged  by  Pliny,  who  seems  to  have  been  misinformed, 
to  have  been  erected  on  the  farther  bank,  where  they  long 
remained  to  excite  the  wonder  and  veneration  of  both  natives 
and  foreigners.-  Traces  of  them  may  still  exist,  and  should 
be  looked  for  along  the  oldest  bed  of  the  Bias,  near  the  hills, 
in  one  or  other  of  the  three  districts — Gurdaspur,  Hosh- 
yarpur,  or  Kangra — where  nobody,  except  Vigne^,  has  yet 
sought  them. 

The  judicious  Arrian  simply  records  that : — 

'  Alexander  di\  ided  the  army  into  brigades,  which  he 
ordered  to  prepare  twelve  altars  equal  in  height  to  the 
loftiest  military  towers,  while  exceeding  them  in  breadth  ;  to 
serve  both  as  thank-offerings  to  the  gods  who  had  led  him 


^  The  address  of  Koinos,  which 
is  given  in  full  by  Arrian,  seems  to 
me  to  be  in  substance  a  genuine 
report  of  a  real  speech,  and  not 
merely  an  appropriate  invention  of 
the  historian 

'^  *  Ad  Hypasin  .  .  .  qui  fuit 
Alexandri   ilinerum   terminus,   cx- 


superato  tamen  amne,  arisque  in 
adversa  ripa  dicatis '  (Pliny,  Hist. 
Knt.,  Bk.  vi,  ch.  17). 

^  Vigne,  A  Personal  Nai-rative 
of  a  Visit  to  Ohazni,  Kabul  and 
Afyhanistan  ri8k'i\  p.  11.  There 
is  reason  to  hope  that  tiie  problem 
may  be  solved  by  a  local  officer. 


THE  ALTARS 


77 


so  far  oil  the  path  of  conquest,  and  as  a  memorial  of  his 
achievements.  When  the  altars  had  heen  constructed,  he 
offered  sacrifice  upon  them  with  the  customaiy  rites,  and 
celebrated  gjninastic  and  equestrian  games.' 

The  structures  thus  solemnly  dedicated  were  well  designed  \Vorship 
to  serve  their  double  purpose ;    and  constituted  a  dignified  by'chan- 
and    worthy    monument    of   the    piety    and    labours   of    the  dragupta. 
world's  greatest  general.    Their  significance  was  fully  appre- 
ciated by  the  Indian  powers  which  had  been  compelled  to 
bend   before   the    Macedonian    storm.     We    are   told   that 
Chandragupta  Maurya,  the  first  emperor  of  India,  who  suc- 
ceeded  to   the   lordship  of  Alexander's   conquests,  and   his 
successors  for  centuries  afterwards,  continued  to  venerate  the 
altars,  and  were  in  the  habit  of  crossing  the  river  to  offer 
sacrifice  upon  them.^ 

But,  if  Curtius  and    Diodorus   are   to    be   believed,  the  Travellers' 
noble  simplicity  of  the  monumental   altars  was   marred  by 
a  ridiculous  addition  designed  to  gratify  the  king's  childish 
vanity.     The  tale  is  given  in  its  fullest  form  by  Diodorus, 


*  'A\(^avSpos  Hiv  ovv  'HpaKKta 
rifMiv  Kal  TTaKiv  'AKt^avSpov  'AvSpu- 
fcOTTOs,  iavTovi  (Is  TO  TtfiaaOat  npofjyov 
diTu  tSiv  opLoiuv.  '  Thus  Alexander, 
honouring  Hercules,  and  Andro- 
kottos  [scil.  Chandragupta]  again 
honouring  Alexander,  got  them- 
selves honoured  on  the  same 
ground'  (Plutarch,  cir.  90  a.  d., 
'  How  One  can  Praise  oneself  with- 
out exciting  Envy,'  §  10,  in  Morals, 
ed,  Teubner,  and  Shilleto's  trans.)- 
The  same  author,  in  his  Life  of 
Alexander,  ch.  Ixii,  states  that 
*  he  also  erected  altars  for  the  gods 
which  the  kings  of  the  Praisiai 
[soil,  Magadha]  even  to  the  present 
day  hold  in  veneration,  crossing 
the  river  to  offer  sacrifices  upon 
them  in  the  Hellenic  fashion '.  Ar- 
rian,  Curtius,  and  Diodorus  agree 
that  there  were  twelve  altars.  Cur- 
tius deposes  to  the  '  squared  stone ', 
and  Diodorus  to  the  height  of  oO 
cubits.  Philostratus  gives  a  differ- 
ent account,  as  follows  : — 

'  And  having  crossed  the  Hydra- 
otes  and  passed  by  several  tribes 
{iOvTij),   they  approached  the  Hy- 


phasis ;  and  30  stades  away  from 
this  river  they  came  on  altars  bear- 
ing this  inscription:  '"To  Father 
Aramon  and  Heracles  his  brother, 
and  to  Athena  Providence  and  to 
Zeus  of  Olympus  and  the  Cabeiri 
of  Samothrace  and  to  the  Indian 
Sun  and  to  the  Delphian  Apollo." 

'  And  they  say  there  was  also  a 
brass  column  {arr)\r]v)  dedicated, 
and  inscribed  as  follows:  "Here 
Alexander  stopped." 

'  The  altars  we  may  attribute  to 
Alexander,  who  so  honoured  the 
boundaries  of  his  empire ;  but  I 
suppose  the  tablet  was  put  up  by 
the  Indians  dwelling  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Hyphasis,  to  their  own 
glory  for  having  stayed  Alexander 
from  any  further  advance '  {Apol- 
lonius  of  Tyana,  Bk.  II,  415}.  Prof. 
Phillimore  erroneously  translates 
the  plurals  ^uixois  and  fiwfjiovs  as 
'  an  altar,'  and  renders  arr^K-qv  as 
'memorial  tablet.'  This  account 
indicates  that  the  altars  dedicated 
to  seven  gods  stood  on  the  near  or 
western  side  of  the  river,  which 
probably  was  the  fact. 


78 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


who  gravely  informs  us  tliat  after  the  completion  of  the 
altars,  Alexander  caused  an  encampment  to  be  made  thrice 
the  si/e  of  that  actually  occupied  by  his  army,  encircled  by 
a  trench  50  feet  wide  and  40  feet  deep,  as  well  as  by 
a  rampart  of  extraordinary  dimensions.  '  He  further  ',  the 
story  continues,  ^ordered  quarters  to  be  constructed  as  for 
foot-soldiers,  each  containing  two  beds  4  cubits  in  length 
for  each  man ;  and  besides  this,  two  stalls  of  twice  the 
ordinary  si/e  for  each  horseman.  Whatever  else  was  to  be 
left  behind  was  directed  to  be  likewise  proportionately 
increased  in  size.'  We  are  asked  to  believe  that  these  silly 
proceedings  were  intended  to  convince  the  country  people 
that  the  invaders  had  been  men  of  more  than  ordinary 
strength  and  stature.^ 

It  is  incredible  that  Alexander  could  have  been  guilty  of 
such  senseless  folly,  and  the  legend  may  be  rejected  without 
hesitation  as  being  probably  based  on  distorted  versions  of 
tales  told  by  travellers  M'ho  had  seen  the  altars. 


are 
soluble 


APPENDIX   D 

Alexanders  Camp  ;  the  Passage  of  the  Hydaspes  ;  and  the 
Site  of  the  Battle  with  Poros 

Problems  The  solution  of  tlie  problems  concerning  the  sites  of  yVlexan- 
der's  camp  on  the  bank  of  the  Hydaspes,  the  passage  of  that 
river,  and  the  battle-field  may  be  attained,  I  believe,  with  suffi- 
cient accuracy  by  careful  and  impartial  examination  of  the  state- 
ments made  by  the  ancient  historians  and  of  the  actual 
to])ography. 
Hydaspes  H^^  Hydaspes  (Vitasta,  Bihat,  or  Jihlam,  conmionly  called 
river.  Jhelum)  river  has  changed  its  course  in  a  less  degree  than  any 

of  the  other  rivers  of  the  Panjab,  and  in  the  portion  of  its 
stream  above  Jalalpur,  Avith  which  alone  the  present  discussion 
is  concerned,  little  material  change  has  occurred.  The  solution 
of  the  three  problems  in  question  is  consequently  not  com))licated 
to  any  serious  extent  by  doubts  as  to  the  ancient  course  of  the 
river.  ^ 


'  Diodorus,  xvii,  9,5 ;  Curtius,  ix,  3. 

^  Greek,  'TSao-Trr;?  or  'Bihamtris 
''Ptolemy^;  Sanskrit,  Vifanffi  x  Pra- 
krit, Vidn.iftl ;  KaslimTrf,  \'i/(ifli  ; 
Fanjabl,  Bilui/  or  Wiliaf.     Miihain- 


madan  writers  refer  to  the  river  as 
'  the  river  of  .lihlam  ',  that  is  to  say, 
the  river  flowinp^  past  the  town  of" 
Jihlam,  where  the  royal  t\- rry  {shall. 
(IHZttr)  was  situated.    Modern  usage 


TAXILA  TO  THE  HYDASPES  79 

Nor  is  there  any  doubt  as  to  the  position  of  Taxila,  the  great  Taxila. 
city  from  which  Alexander  started  on  liis  niarcli  to  tlie  Hydasj)es. 
Although  Cunningham's  description  of  the  remains  of  the  city 
is  in  many  respects  inadequate,  his  identification  of  tlie  ruins 
at  and  near  Shahdheri  with  the  site  of  Taxila  is  certainly  correct. 
The  ruins,  which  are  mere  mounds  scattered  through  the  fields, 
are  situated  about  20  miles  to  the  north-west  of  Rawalpindi, 
and  about  9  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Hasan  Abdrd  village.^ 

The  distance  from  the  site  of  Taxila  to  the  town  of  Jihlam  Taxila  to 
(.Ihelum)  in  a  direct  line,  as  measured  on  the  map,   is   about  Hyda- 
J)0  miles,  and  the  dix-ect  distance  from  Taxila  to  Jalaljmr,  some  '^P^'^* 
30  miles  lower  down  the  river,  is  a  few  miles  more.     The  north- 
ern or  upper  road  from  Shahdheri  (Taxila)  to  the  town  of  Jihlam 
via  Rohtas  and  the  Baki*ala  Pass  is  91-  English  miles.     Roads  or 
paths  leading  from  Shahdheri  to  Jahllpur  via  Dudhial  and  the 
Bunhar  Pass  vary  in  length  from  109  to  11 4  miles. '^ 

Every  one  is  agreed  that  Alexander  must  have  reached  the 
bank  of  the  Hydaspes  either  at  Jihlam  or  Jalalpur;  no  other 
place  can  be  thought  of.  Both  towns  are  situated  on  ancient 
lines  of  road  commanding  ancient  ferries. 

The  invader's  obvious  goal  unquestionably  would  have  been  Route  to 
Jihlam,  which  is  appreciably  nearer  to  Taxila,  and  has  a  ferry  Jihlam. 
'infinitely  more  convenient,  and  only  one-third  the  width  of 
the  Jahllpur  ferry '.'*  The  road  to  either  crossing-place  is  rugged 
and  difficult,  but  a  large  force  mai*ching  to  Jalalpur  would  be 
more  liable  to  entanglement  in  the  intricate  ravines  of  the  Salt 
Range,  and  would  encounter  more  formidable  obstacles  than 
those  met  with  on  the  road  to  Jihlam.  The  presumption,  there- 
fore, is  that  Alexander  would  have  adopted  the  shorter  and  easier 
route  and  foniied  his  camp  near  the  town  of  Jihlam.  The 
opinion  that  he  followed  this  natural  and  obvious  course  of  action 
has  been  advocated  by  Burnes,  Coui-t,  and  Abbott,  who  were  all 
well  qualified  to  express  an  authoritative  opinion  in  virtue  of  their 
military  experience  and  exact  local  knowledge. 

The    rival    theory    that    Alexander's    camp   was    formed   at  Jalalpur 
Jalalpur,  and  that  the  passage  of  the  river  was  effected  a  few  theory  im- 
miles  above  that  town  has  been  maintained  by  authorities  of  P'"°"^"'^' 
equal  personal  weight — Elphinstone,  Cunningham,  and  Chesney 

has  abbreviated  the  Muhammadan  *  Shahdheri  is  in  N.  lat.  33°  17', 

designation  into  '  the  Jihlam  ',  or,  E.  long.  72°  19'  {Imp.  Gaz.    1908, 

as  it  is  commonly  written,' Jhelum.'  s.  v.).       The     ruins    extend    over 

Little  deviation  has  occurred  in  the  more  than  12  square  miles.    Cun- 

course  of  the  stream,  except  near  ningham    counted    55    stupas,    28 

its  junction  with  the  Akesines  or  monasteries,  and  9 temples  (i?«pov/A', 

Chinab,   which    has    been    moved  ii,  1,51). 

'  often  and  considerably  '  (Raverty,  ^  Cunningham,  Archaeol.  Survey 

'The    Mihran    of    Sind     and     its  Rep.,  ii,  lis?,  172. 

Tributaries,'   ./.  A.  S.  B.,  part  i,  ■'  Abbott,  in  .T.  A.  S.  B.,  1852, 

1892,   pp.   318,    329,   332;     Stein,  p.  219. 
transl.  Itdjat,  ii,  411). 


80 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Cunning- 
ham's 
view. 


His  river- 
distance 
argument, 


Argu- 
ment 
from 
Strabo. 


— and  these  writers,  being  better  known  in  Europe  than  their 
opponents,  have  succeeded  in  v.inning  general  assent  to  the 
Jalalpur  theory  in  spite  of  its  inherent  improbabiUty. 

This  theory  has  been  defended  at  length  by  Cunningham, 
whose  arguments  would  have  gained  additional  force  if  they  had 
been  propounded  after  impartial  examination  of  the  site  which 
Abbott,  after  careful  survey,  determined  to  be  that  of  the 
battle-field.  If  the  battle  took  place  in  the  Karri  plain,  as 
maintained  by  Abbott,  Alexander's  camp  must  have  been  at  or 
close  to  Jihlam,  and  the  passage  of  the  river  must  have  been 
effected  above  that  town.  But,  unfortunately,  Cunningham 
never  attempted  to  meet  Abbott's  reasoning,  nor  did  he  examine 
the  course  of  the  river  above  Jihlam.  Having  formed  in  1 846 
the  opinion  that  Alexander's  camp  was  at  Jahllpur,  Cunningham 
was  content  in  1863  to  examine  the  Jahllpur  position  with  a 
determination  to  make  the  topography  fit  in  with  his  precon- 
ceived decision.  He  merely  alludes  to  General  Abbott's  paper 
as  '  an  elaborate  disquisition  ',  and  there  is  nothing  to  show  that 
he  ever  studied  it  carefully.^ 

Cunningham  relies  on  three  arguments  in  favour  of  the 
Jalalpur  site  for  Alexander's  camp.  The  third  of  these  is  that, 
according  to  Arrian  [Anab.  vi,  2,  4),  the  fleet  when  descending 
the  Hydaspes  from  Nikaia,  the  town  on  the  battle-field,  reached 
the  capital  of  Sophytes,  king  of  the  Salt  Range,  on  the  third 
day.  The  capital  of  Sophytes,  according  to  Cunningham,  Avas 
at  Ahmadabad,  '  which  is  just  three  days'  distant  for  a  laden 
boat  from  Jalrdpur,  but  is  six  days  from  Jhelum,' '  and,  conse- 
quently, Jalalpur  suits  the  conditions  better  than  Jhelum.  This 
argument,  on  which  Cunningham  himself  laid  little  stress, 
obviously  depends  on  the  correct  identification  of  the  capital 
of  Sophytes.  Inasmuch  as  the  '  identification '  proposed  by 
Cunningham  is  a  bare  guess,  quite  unsupported  by  evidence, 
the  argument  based  upon  it  does  not  demand  further  con- 
sideration. 

The  second  and  more  important  argument  is  based  upon  a 
passage  of  Strabo  (xv,  32),  which  states  that  Alexander's  '  route 
as  far  as  the  Hydaspes  was  for  the  most  j)art  towards  the 
south,  and  thenceforward  was  more  easterly  as  far  as  the 
Hypanis  [  =  Hyphasis] ;  but  throughout  it  kept  closer  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountains  than  to  the  plains  '.^ 

Inasmuch  as  Jalalpur  is  nearly  due  south,  while  Jihlam  is 
a2)proximately  south-south-east  from  Taxila,  the  Jalalpur  position 


^  Reports,  it,  174. 

-  RaportH,  ii,  37,  38,  180.  On 
p.  38  Cunningham  makes  out  that 
Bhera  was  the  capital  of  Sophytes, 
while  on  p.  !i7  he  makes  the  same 
assertion  concerning    Ahmadabad 


on  the  opposite  bank. 

'^  'H  niv  ovv  fe'x/"  ■'"''•'  "thaa-nov 
u5ds  TO  irXiov  riv  fwl  fxear]fx0piav  t) 
6'  ivOivSe  npus  (cu  /xaWov  A»ex/"  ''''^v 
"Tirnviof  anaaa  Si  Trjs  vncoptias  fxdWov 
■q  rail'  nfdiwv  (XOfJtefr], 


DISTANCES  81 

for  the  camp  seems  at  first  sight  to  suit  tlie  first  chiuse  of  Strabo's 
statement  better  than  the  Jihlam  position. 

But  in  reaUty  either  position  suits  the  text  equally  well.  We  Refuted, 
do  not  know  the  points  at  which  Alexander  crossed  the  suc- 
ceeding rivers,  the  Akesines  and  the  Hydraotes,  nor  the  point 
at  which  he  reached  the  most  distant  stream,  Hyphasis 
[=Hypanis].  The  assumption  commonly  made  that  Alexander 
crossed  the  Akesines  (Chinab)  at  Wazirabad  does  not  rest  on  any 
evidence.  Cunningliam  and  the  otlier  authors  who  maintain  the 
Jalaljiur  position  forget  the  last  clause  of  Strabo's  statement  to 
the  effect  that  the  whole  route  kejjt  as  close  as  ))ossible  to  the 
foot  of  the  hills.  In  another  passage  (xv,  26)  Strabo  ex|)lains 
that  Alexander  adopted  this  line  of  march  because  the  rivers 
which  traversed  it  could  be  crossed  with  greater  facility  near 
their  sources  than  lower  down. 

McCrindle,  foi-getting  this  most  important  general  state-  McCrin- 
ment,  which  covers  the  whole  route  from  Taxila  to  the  Hyphasis,  die. 
has  constructed  a  map  which  represents  Alexander  as  keeping 
away  from  the  hills,  and  marching  through  the  plains  of  the  Panjab 
past  Jalalpur,  Wazirabad,  Lahore,  and  Amritsar.  The  real  line  of 
march  must  have  lain  much  farther  to  the  north.  The  Hydaspes 
must  have  been  crossed  close  to  the  spot  where  it  emerges  from 
the  hills  above  Jihlam,  and  the  army  must  subsequently  have 
j)assed  close  to  Sialkot  and  Gurdaspur,  keeping  near  the  present 
frontier  of  the  Kashmir  (Jamu)  state. 

The  assumption  that  Alexander  followed  this  line  of  march 
agrees  accurately  with  every  part  of  Strabo's  statement.  A  line 
drawn  from  Jihlam  to  Sialkot,  or  to  the  north  of  that  place,  is 
considerably  more  easterly  in  direction  than  a  line  drawn  from 
Taxila  to  Jihlam. 

Cunningham's  second  argument  in  favour  of  the  Jalalpur 
position  therefore  fails,  like  the  third. 

The  argument  which  Cunningham  places  first,  and  on  which  Argu- 
he  lays  most  stress,  is  based  on  Pliny's  figures  for  the  distance  py^\  °'" 
from  Peukolaitis  (Charsadda),  via  Taxila,  to  the  Hydaspes  (vi,  21). 
Pliny  gives  the  distances  as  (1)  from  Peukolaitis  to  Taxila  60 
Roman  =  55  English  miles,  and  (2)  from  Taxila  to  the  Hydaspes 
120  Roman,  or  110  English  miles;  and  Cunningham  argues  that 
these  figures  suit  Jalalpur  better  than  they  suit  Jihlam.  But 
it  is  notorious  that  the  figures  in  Pliny's  text  are  often  erroneous. 
For  example,  the  very  passage  referred  to  gives  the  distance 
from  the  Hydaspes  to  the  Hyphasis  as  390  Roman  miles,  which 
is  wildly  wrong.  It  is  rash,  therefore,  to  rely  on  the  figures  in 
Pliny's  text  as  we  possess  it.  Cunningham  himself  was  satisfied 
that  the  actual  distance  from  Peukolaitis  to  Taxila,  via  Uhand, 
where  Alexander  crossed  the  Indus,  is  greater  than  that  stated 
by  Pliny,  and  proposed  to  correct  the  text  (^Reports;  ii,  112). 

But,  even  if  the  figure  of  1 20  Roman  miles  fi-om  Taxila  to  the  Refuted. 


82 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Topo- 
graphy. 


Night 
march. 


Hydaspt-s  be  accepted  as  correct,  it  does  not  exclude  the  theory 
that  Alexander's  camp  was  at  Jihlam.  According  to  Cunningham 
{Reports,  \i,  1 79)  the  distance  by  an  old  road  is  94  miles.  Pliny's 
distance  is  1 10  English  miles,  and  the  difference  is  only  1 6  miles, 
which  is  insignificant,  considering  that  Ave  have  no  infonnation 
concerning  the  route  taken  by  Alexander  in  very  difficult 
country,  and  no  knowledge  of  the  changes  which  have  occurred 
in  twenty-two  centuries.  The  argument  based  on  Pliny's  figures 
is,  consequently,  worthless,  whether  the  figures  be  right  or 
wi-ong. 

I  have  thus  shown  that  all  Cunningham's  arguments  for  the 
Jalalpur  theory  fail,  and  that  the  Jihlam  theory,  so  far  from 
being  opposed  to  Strabo's  evidence,  is  actually  supported  by  it. 

The  theory  of  Elphinstone  and  Cunningham  is  still  more 
strongly  opposed  by  the  evidence  of  topographical  facts  than  by 
that  of  Strabo. 

The  statements  of  Arrian,  a  critical  writer,  who  had  access 
to  the  best  contemporary  authorities  and  carefully  weighed  their 
testimony,  are  extremely  clear. 

The  spot  higher  up  the  river  to  which  Alexander  marched  by 
night  in  order  to  '  steal  a  j^assage  '  was  situated  at  '  a  remarkable 
bend '  in  the  stream,  which  helped  to  conceal  his  movements.^ 
There  is  no  such  bend  at  the  spot  above  Jalalpur,  between  the 
villages  of  Mandiala  and  Kothera,  where  Cunningham  locates 
the  passage  {RepoHs,  ii,  pi.  LXVI).  But  there  is  such  a  bend 
at  Bhuna  above  Jihlam,  where  Abbott  rightly  locates  it. 

Arrian's  excellent  and  vivid  account  (v,  11)  clearly  implies 
that  Alexander  made  his  night  march  parallel  to  the  river. 
Having  described  the  wooded  bluff  and  island  near  the  remark- 
able bend  of  the  river,  he  goes  on  to  say  : — 

'Now  the  blulT  and  the  island  were  150  stadia  [  =  about  17  English 
miles]  distant  from  the  great  camp.  But  along  the  whole  of  the  bank 
he  had  posted  running  sentries  at  a  proper  distance  for  keeping  each 
other  in  sight,  and  readily  transmitting  along  the  line  any  orders  that 
might  be  received  from  any  quarter.' 

Half-way  between  the  camp  and  the  crossing-place  Meleager 
and  other  officers  were  stationed  with  a  considerable  force, 
under  orders  to  cross  over  in  detachments  as  soon  as  they 
should  see  the  Indians  fairly  engaged  in  action.  'J'he  historian 
then  goes  on  to  state  that  Alexander  marched  '  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  bank  so  that  he  might  not  be  seen  '.  These 
statements  prove  that  Alexander,  when  making  his  night 
march,  kept  an  approximately  straight  course,  parallel  to  the 
river  bank,  but  sufficiently  far  from  it  to  escape  the  enemy's 
observation. 


*  "AKf>a  ^v  divixovaa  ttjs  o\6r}i  rov  'Tdaanov,  iVa  iniKafXTTTiv  o  jroTUfivi  Kuyov 
u^ioji  (Arrian,  Anal,  v,  11), 


PLAN 

of  the 

BATTLE     OF    THE     HYDASPES 

between  Alexander  and  Poros. 


-!■  'I'  '!•  -Ii 


Indian  Infantry 
Cavalry 
Chariots 
Elephants  :::::: 

Creek  Infantry  w^ 

"     Cavalry  IX! 

"     Mounted  Archers  ^ 


N. 


J 


L 


ir 


KARRI      PLAIN 


THE  TRUE  CROSSING -PLACE  83 

'I'hey    are    absolutely    inconsistent  with   the  theory  of  Cnn-  Cunning- 
ninghani,  as  expi-essed  in  his  map  (^Rcpoiis,  ii,  })1.   LXV^l),  which  hams 
represents  Alexander  as  goin<>;  round  three  sides  of  a  rectangle  gfroneous 
among    the  ravines    of   the  Salt  Range,  marching  inland  from 
Jalalpur  nearly  due  north  for  seven  or  eight  miles,  then  eastward 
for  seven  miles,  and  finally,  two  or  three  miles  back  to  the  river. 
The  local  facts  at  Jalfdpur  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  account 
of  the  night  march    as    given    by    Arrian,    and    Cunningham's 
map  is    a   desperate    attempt    to    reconcile    the    irreconcilable, 
and    to    bolster    up  a  preconceived   theory  based  on  fallacious 
premisses. 

The  descriptions  of  the  river  itself  at  the  time  when  Alexander  Descrip- 
crossed  it,  as  given  by  the  ancient  historians,  are  equally  incon-  tion  of 
sistent  with  the  Jahllpur  theory.     All  authorities  agi'ee  that  the  '''^'<^'*' 
river  was  then  in  high  flood  owing  to  the  melting  of  the  snows 
in   the    mountains    and  incessant  rain.     But  the  width  of  the 
stream  was  only  four  stadia  or  809  yards,  whereas  at  Jalalpur  at 
the  same  season,  the  end  of  June  or  the  beginning  of  July,  the 
river   would    have    been   moi*e    than  double   that  width.     The 
current  was  interrupted  by  numerous  islands  and  sunken  rocks. 
At  Jalalpur  there  are  neither  rocks  nor  islands.' 

If  the  Jalrdpur  theory  be  given  uj),  and  Alexander's  camp  be  The  true 
located  at  or  near  Jihlam,  all  topographical  difficulties  disappear,  theory. 
Alexander's  march  by  night  is  then  seen  to  have  taken  place  at 
a  moderate  distance  from  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  in  a  direc- 
tion nearly  parallel  to  the  stream,  and  to  have  been  directed  to 
a  point  situated  at  a  '  remarkable  bend  '  of  the  river,  distant  from 
the  supposed  position  of  his  camp  about  1 3  or  14  miles  in  a  direct 
line,  which  distance  might  well  be  estimated  as  17  miles  for 
marching  purposes,  if  the  route  actually  taken  were  slightly 
circuitous.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  define  either  the  exact 
site  of  Alexander's  camp  or  the  precise  spot  where  the  army 
embarked  on  its  perilous  passage,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  2  or 
3  miles  should  be  added  to  the  approximate  distance  indicated 
by  General  Abbott's  map. 

By  marching  to  the  vicinity  of  BhunJi  near  the  '  remarkable  Alexander 
bend '  south-east  of  Mangla,  Alexander  gained  the  advantage  of  on  interior 

line. 

1  During  the  operations  preceding  Jalalpur  to  be  1  mile,  1  furlong,  and 
the  battle  the  soldiers  of  the  oppos-  35  perches  wide,  and  from  9  to  14 
ing  armies  used  to  swim  out  to  feet  deep  (Thornton,  Gazetteer,  s.v. 
the  islands  and  engage  in  combat.  '  Jhelum').  The  ferry  at  Jihlam 
The  river,  confined  by  high  banks,  is  only  one-third  of  the  width  of 
rushed  in  a  seething  torrent  over  that  at  Jalalpur,  and  there  are  '  no 
sunken  rocks  (Curtius,  viii,  13).  islands  '  at  the  latter  place  (Abbott, 
The  army  during  its  progress  to  ./.^.,S^.  7^.,  1852,  p.  219).  Mr.  Pear- 
the  Hyphasis  was  exposed  for  son  says  that  there  are  still  wooded 
seventy  days  to  violent  storms  of  islands  above  Darapur,  midway 
rain  (Diodorus,  xviii,  94 ;  Strabo,  between  Jihlam  and  Jalalpur  {Ind. 
XV,  21  vtadai  avvtxSi'i).  In  July  ^Ixi.,  1905,  p.  260). 
Elphinstone    found    the    river    at 

G  2 


84 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Battle- 
field. 


Alexan- 
der's 
channel. 


Grote's 
opinion. 


Conclu- 
sion. 


moving  along  an  interior  chord  line,  while  his  opponent  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  compelled  to  go  round  the 
outside  of  a  curve.  If  the  quicksands  were  in  the  same  position 
in  Alexander's  time  as  they  now  are,  the  forces  of  Poros  must 
necessarily  liave  covered  a  long  circuit  before  they  could  ap- 
proach the  Macedonian  landing-place.  In  any  case,  the  distance 
wliich  the  Indians  had  to  traverse  Avas  considerably  longer  than 
the  chord  traversed  by  Alexander. 

When  the  Macedonian  army  of  about  11,000  men,  after  sur- 
mounting all  the  difficulties  of  the  passage,  ultimately  found 
itself  on  tlie  mainland,  it  entered  a  considerable  plain  of  firm 
soil  known  as  '  Karri ',  girdled  by  low  hills  on  the  north  and 
east.  This  plain  at  its  widest  part  is  about  5  miles  broad,  and 
afforded  a  sufficient,  though  not  excessive,  space  for  the  battle. 
The  river  at  the  crossing-place  runs  over  quartz  boulders,  and 
a  still  existing  island,  '  larger  than  the  rest,'  corresponds  closely 
with  that  described  b}'  the  Greek  historians  as  the  place  on  which 
Alexander  first  landed,  and  may  or  may  not  liave  continued  in 
existence  since  his  time. 

The  channel  marked  '  Alexander's  channel ',  now  considerably 
silted  up,  seems  to  be  similar  to  that  which  the  Macedonian  army 
forded,  and  if  not  precisely  identical,  is  certainly  very  close  to  the 
position  of  the  channel  crossed  by  Alexander.  General  Abbott 
is  quite  justified  by  his  map  in  saying  that  'the  river  is  at  this 
moment  [1848]  so  exactly  as  described  by  Alexander's  historians 
that  the  map  might  seem  to  be  an  ancient  rather  than  a  modern 
production'.  General  Abbott's  'elaborate  disquisition'  is  based 
on  a  careful  survey  effected  by  two  days'  hard  work  from  sun- 
rise to  evening  each  day,  and  his  observations  have  never  been 
contradicted  or  impugned.  Cunningham  simply  took  no  notice 
of  them. 

Gi'ote,  the  historian  of  Greece,  is  the  only  author  of  repute  who 
has  shown  due  appreciation  of  Abbott's  labours,  and  he  has  ac- 
knowledged that  the  general's  memoir  supplies  '  highly  plausible 
reasons  in  support  of  the  hypothesis  that  the  crossing  took  place 
near  Jelum  '.  Mr.  Grote's  opinion  would  doubtless  have  become 
that  of  the  learned  world  if  General  Abbott's  essay  had  been 
published  in  an  easily  accessible  form.  Buried  as  it  is  in  an 
old  volume  of  the  Asiatic  Society's  Journal,  few  people  have 
read  it;  whereas  the  official  j)ublications  of  Sir  Alexander 
Cunningham  are  widely  known,  and  his  o])inions  have  been 
accepted  too  often  without  criticism. 

I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  Alexander  marched  to  the 
Hydasi)es  by  the  shortest  and  easiest  route  open  to  him  ;  that 
he  struck  the  river  at  or  near  Jihlam,  whei'e  he  pitched  his 
camp  ;  that  he  crossed  the  stream  where  it  was  rocky  and  narrow, 
a  little  below  the  point  where  it  emerges  from  the  hills  ;  and 
that  the  battle  with  Poros  was  fought  in  the  Karri  plain.      The 


DATE  OF  THE  BATTLE  85 

line  of  march  between  the  Hydaspes  and  the  Hyphasis  cannot 
be  precisely  delineated,  but  it  was  certainly  as  close  as  possible 
to  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  must  have  passed  near  Sialkot.  The 
late  Major  Raverty  was  of  the  same  opinion.  He  wrote  to  me 
in  1905:  "^  I  quite  agree  with  you  as  to  Alexander's  crossing- 
place  over  the  Hydaspes  ...  I  well  recollect  when  we  crossed 
the  river  after  the  battle  of  Guzerat,  in  pursuit  of  the  Sikhs  and 
Afghans,  that  we  crossed  just  at  the  place  that  you  have  men- 
tioned, and  the  matter  was  discussed  and  Abbott's  theory 
endorsed.  We  must  give  Alexander  credit  for  some  military 
knowledge  at  least,  and  that  would  naturally  lead  him  to  keep 
nearer  the  sources  of  the  rivers  in  order  to  cross  the  more  easily  ; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  hills  on  the  north  protected  his 
flank  '.1 

APPENDIX   E 

The  date  of  the  Battle  of  the  Hydaspes 

The  evidence  of  the  ancient  historians  concerning  the  flooded  Exact  date 
state  of  the  river,  and  the  continued  wet  weather  before,  during,  doubtful, 
and  after  the  battle,  which  has  been  cited  in  Apjiendix  D, 
establishes  beyond  doubt  that  the  battle  was  fought  towards  the 
end  of  June,  or  early  in  July.  But  certain  positive  statements 
which  profess  to  define  tlie  date  with  greater  precision  have  also 
been  made,  and  must  be  briefly  examined.  Arrian  makes  two 
such  statements,  and  a  third  is  added  by  Diodorus. 

Arrian's  first  statement  (Anab.  v,  9)  that  the  battle  was  fought  Arrian's 
after  the  summer  solstice,  that  is  to  say  later  than  June  21,  is  fir.st 
undoubtedly  correct,  being  in  accordance  with  the  evidence  as  statement, 
to  the  state  of  the  river  and  with  the  remark  of  Diodorus  that 
when  the  array  reached  the  Hyphasis  it    had  endured  violent 
showers    of   rain    for  seventy  days.      The    MSS.   all   read   fiera 
TpoTTcxs,  and  the  suggestion  made  by  some  editors  to  substitute 
Kara  for  /xera  is  unjustifiable. 

But  the  second  statement  of  Arrian  {Anab.  v,   19)  that  the  Arrian's 
battle  was  fought  '  in  the  month  of  Mounychion   of  the  year  second 
when  Hegemon  was  Archon  in  Athens '  seems  to  be  partially  statement, 
inaccurate.     The  assertion  of  Diodorus  (xvii,  87)  that  the  entry 
into  Taxila,  in  the  spring  preceding  the  battle,  occurred  during 
the  year  '  in  which  Chremes  was  archon  at  Athens,  and  in  which 
the  Romans  appointed  Publius  Cornelius  and  Aulus  Postumius 
consuls,'  is  apparently  altogether  erroneous.     Neither  the  consuls 
nor  the  archon  named  can  be  accepted  as  correct. 

The  original  authorities,  the  Macedonian  officers  of  Alexander's  Mace- 
donian 

'The  name  of  the  battle-field  is       Feb.  21,  1849,  and  resulted  in  the  ^'■^''^"*^''""- 
more  usually  and  correctly  written       annexation  of  the  Panjab. 
Gujrat.     The  battle  took  place  on 


86 


ALEXANDER'S  INDIAN  CAMPAIGN 


Motmy- 
chion. 


The 
archons. 


Explana- 
tion of 
error. 


Conclu- 
sion. 


army,  ]irobably  expressed  the  date  in  terms  of  the  Macedonian 
calendar,  and  the  divergent  statements  made  by  the  historians 
may  be  due  to  errors  in  the  conversion  of  Macedonian  into 
Attic  and  Roman  dates.  As  Mr.  Hogarth  has  observed,  it  is 
impossible  for  a  modern  scholar  to  check  such  conversions, 
because  our  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  Macedonian  calendar 
is  very  imperfect,  and  little  is  known  of  the  methods  used  for 
converting  Macedonian  dates  into  those  expressed  in  terms  of 
other  calendars.^ 

The  battle  certainly  was  fought  in  the  year  326  B.C.,  and  the 
corresponding  Attic  year  (  =  01.  11. '3,  2)  is  supposed  to  have 
begun  on  June  25,  'V2~,  and  ended  on  June  15,  .S26  B.c.^  The 
close  of  Mounychion,  the  tenth  month,  even  if  the  aid  of  an 
intercalary  month  be  called  in,  cannot  be  brought  down  later 
than  June  1.'3.  If  there  Avere  no  intercalary  month,  Mounychion 
should  have  ended  on  or  about  May  14.  But,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  battle  occurred  later  than  June  21,  and  it  seems  clear, 
therefore,  that  An-ian  has  wrongly  named  the  Attic  month. 
A  rash  proposal  to  substitute  '  Metageitnion  '  for  '  Mounychion  ', 
the  reading  of  the  MSS.,  is,  as  Grote  observes,  '  mere  conjecture,' 
and  is,  moreover,  inconsistent  with  the  statment  that  Hegemon 
was  archon. 

Chremes  certainly  succeeded  Hegemon  as  archon  ;  and  if 
Unger  is  right  in  assigning  the  end  of  the  Attic  year  327—6  u.c. 
to  June  15,  Diodorus,  although  wrong  in  ascribing  the  entry 
into  Taxila  to  the  archonship  of  Chremes,  would  be  right  if  he 
meant  his  readers  to  understand  that  the  battle  occurred  after 
Chremes  had  become  archon.  If,  as  other  authorities  suppose, 
the  archonship  of  Chremes  did  not  begin  imtil  July  18,  then 
Arrian  will  be  right  in  stating  that  the  battle  was  fought  while 
Hegemon  was  still  archon. 

Arrian's  error  in  naming  the  month  Mounychion  may  be 
explained  plausibly  by  the  suj)position  that  Alexander  reached 
the  river  bank  in  that  month,  and  that  by  a  slight  carelessness 
the  date  of  his  arrival  in  camji  was  taken  as  the  date  of  the 
great  battle.  The  king's  elaborate  secret  preparations  for  cross- 
ing the  river  must  have  occupied  a  long  time,  at  least  six  or 
seven  weeks,  and  if  the  camp  was  formed  during  Mounychion, 
early  in  May,  the  battle  must  have  been  fought  at  the  very  end 
of  June,  or,  more  probably,  early  in  July. 

Exact  certitude  is  not  attainable,  and  it  is  not  possible  to  go 
much  beyond  the  remark  of  Grote,  that  '  as  far  as  an  opinion 


'  Hogarth,  Philip  and  Alexander 
of  Macedim  (Murray,  1897),  Ap- 
pendix. 

^  Unger,  '  Zeitrechnung  der 
Griechen  und  Homer,'  in  Grund- 
riss  dus  klftn.i.  ytlterfh.,  pp.  7i2-4, 
752,  75.5.     Hut  the  exactness  of  the 


results  of  the  inquiry  appears  to  be 
doubtful.  See  also  Cunningham, 
Book  of  Indian  Eras,  pp.  '.V.),  4i, 
103;  and  note  1  in  McCrindle, 
Invasion  of  India  hi/  Alexander  the 
Great,  -ind  ed.,  p.  27 1. 


EXACT  DATE  NOT  KNOWN 


87 


can  be  foniied,  it  would  seem  tliat  the  battle  was  fought  about 
the  end  of  June,  or  beginning  of  July  .".'^(i  u.(.,  after  the  rainy 
season  had  connneneed  ;  towards  the  close  of  the  archonship  of 
Hegemon,  and  the  beginning  of  that  of  Chremes  '.^  I  accept 
the  archonship  of  Hegemon  on  the  authority  of  Arrian,  and 
believe  that  the  battle  took  place  early  in  July  326  b.c,  in  the 
last  month,  Skeirophorion,  of  the  Attic  year,  a  few  days  before 
Chremes  became  archon. 


'  IIlst07't/  of  Greece,  vol.  xii,  .U, 
note,  ed.  1869.  Mr.  Pearson,  how- 
ever, basing  his  opinion  on  his 
personal  knowledge  of  the  rivers  at 
all  times  of  the  year,  and  under  all 
conditions,  holds  that '  the  real  date 
for  the  passage  of  the  Hydaspes 
was,  as  stated  by  Arrian,  the  month 
of  Mounychion  in  the  archonship 
of  Hegemon,  and  that  Mouny- 
chion in  that  year  occurred  as  early 
as  April  rather  than  as  late  as  June. 
It  was  a  matter  of  prime  importance 
to  cross  the  river  before  it  was  in 


high  Hood,  and  no  sufficient  explana- 
tion is  given  of  the  supposed  delay  ' 
(/ml.  A>i/.,  190.5,  p.  2j7).  Mr. 
Pearson,  consequently,  is  obHged  to 
disbelieve  the  positive  statements  of 
our  authorities  about  the  weather. 
The  .simple  'explanation  of  the 
supposed  delay '  is  that  Alexander 
was  unable  to  *  steal  a  passage ' 
earlier,  and  was  obliged  to  make 
the  best  of  unfavourable  conditions 
imposed  on  him  through  the  delay 
caused  by  the  vigilance  of  Poros. 


CHAPTER   IV 


Retreat  to 
Akesines. 


Appoint- 
ment of 
satrap. 


Reinforce- 
ments. 


Prepara- 
tions for 
river 
voyage. 


ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN  : 
THE   RETREAT 

The  retreating  army  retraced  its  steps,  and  arrived  again 
without  further  adventure  on  the  bank  of  the  Akesines 
(Chinab),  where  Hepliaistion  had  completed  the  building 
of  a  fortified  town.  Voluntary  settlers  from  the  neighbour- 
ing country  and  such  of  the  mercenary  troops  as  seemed 
unfit  for  active  service  were  left  to  occupy  and  garrison 
this  post,  and  Alexander  began  to  prepare  for  his  voyage 
down  the  rivers  to  the  Great  Sea. 

Envo}S  bearing  tribute  from  the  kings  of  the  lower  hills, 
now  known  as  the  chieftainships  of  Rajauri  and  Bhimbhar 
and  the  British  district  of  Hazara,  Mere  received  at  this 
time.  Alexander,  who  regarded  his  Indian  conquests  as 
permanent  additions  to  the  empire,  and  evidently  cherished 
hopes  of  a  return  to  the  country,  having  accepted  the 
tenders  of  submission,  solemnly  appointed  the  king  of 
Abhisara  (Bhimbhar  and  Rajauri)  to  the  office  of  satrap, 
and  invested  him  with  authority  over  the  king  of  Urasa 
(Hazara),  who  is  called  Arsakes  by  Arrian.^ 

About  tire  same  time  a  welcome  reinforcement  of  5,000 
cavalry  from  Thrace,  and  7,000  infantry,  sent  by  the  king's 
cousin,  Harpalos,  satrap  of  Babylon,  arrived^  bringing  no 
less  than  25,000  suits  of  armour  inlaid  with  gold  and  silver. 
The  new  accoutrements  were  at  once  distributed  to  the 
ragged  troops,  and  the  old  suits  Mere  burned.  ^ 

Alexander  then  advanced  to  the  Hydaspes  (Jihlam),  and 
encamped  on  the  bank,  probably  on  the  site  of  the  camp 


'  The  name  Arsakes  probably  is 
a  corrupt  form  derived  from  UrasJi, 
its  apparently  Parthian  guise  being 
accidental. 

*  Curtius,  ix,  3.  Diodorus  (xvii, 
9.5)  gives  higher  and  less  credible 
figures,  namely,  30,000  infantry  and 


(),00()  cavalry.  Both  authors  agree 
as  to  the  number  of  suits  of  armour, 
which  must  have  required  an  enor- 
jnous  transport  train.  Diodorus 
adds  that  100  talents  of  medicines 
were  received  at  the  same  time. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  VOYAGE  89 

formerly  occupied  by  Poros.  Several  weeks  were  now 
devoted  to  the  fiiiiil  preparations  for  the  voyage  down  the 
rivers.  All  available  coinitry  boats  plying  on  tlu'  river 
were  impressed  for  the  service,  and  deficiencies  were  supplied 
by  the  construction  of  new  vessels,  for  which  the  forests  at 
the  base  of  the  hills  afforded  ample  facilities.  Cre^s  were 
provided  from  the  contingents  of  seafaring  nations,  Phoeni- 
cians, Cyprians,  Karians,  and  Egyptians,  who  accompanied 
the  army,  and  by  the  end  of  October,  326  B.C.,  all  was  ready. 
The  fleet,  which  included  eight  galleys  of  thirty  oars  each, 
and  a  multitude  of  horse  transports  and  small  craft  of  all 
kinds,  probably  numbered  nearly  two  thousand  vessels.^ 

Before  the  voyage  began  Alexander  convoked  an  assembly  Promotion 
of  his  officers  and  the  ambassadors  of  the  Indian  powers,  """"os. 
and  hi  their  presence  appointed  Poros  to  be  king  of  all  the 
conquered  territories  lying  between  the  Hydaspes  and  the 
Hyphasis.  These  territories  are  said  to  have  been  occupied 
by  seven  nations,  the  Glausai,  Kathaioi,  and  others,  and  to 
have  comprised  no  less  than  two  thousand  towns.  The 
opportunity  was  seized  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between 
Poros  and  his  old  enemy  the  king  of  Taxila,  and  the  friend- 
ship between  the  two  monarchs  was  cemented  by  a  matri- 
monial alliance.  The  king  of  Taxila,  who  had  vied  with 
his  rival  in  zealous  service  to  the  invader,  was  formally 
confirmed  in  his  sovereignty  of  the  country  between  the 
Indus  and  the  Hydaspes. 

Alexander,  who  never  neglected  to  make  provision  for  the  Kingdom 
protection  of  his  flank  and  rear,  and  for  the  uninterrupted  uugiy*' 
maintenance  of  communications  with  the   distant   base   in 
Europe,  instructed  Generals   Hephaistion  and   Krateros  to 
march  with  all  possible  speed  to  secure  the  capital  of  King 

'  Arrian  (Anab.  vi,  2),   on   the  Curtius  and  Diodorus  estimate  the 

excellent  authority  of  Ptolemy,  son  number  of  vessels  as  1,()()().     Con- 

of   Lagos,   who    became    king    of  sldering  thcit  8,000  troops,  several 

Egypt.   The  same  author  in  Indika,  thousand   horses,   and   vast  quan- 

ch.  xix,  probably  on  the  authority  tities  of  supplies  were  carried,  the 

ofNearchos,gives  the  total  strength  higher  estimate  of  Ptolemy  must 

as  800  only  {vrjes  Si  ai  avfinaaai  axnai  be  admitted  to  be  correct.     Some 

oKTaKoaiai  tjoav,  a'i  re  fxoKpal  icai  oaa  editors  arbitrarily  change  the  '  eight 

ffTpoyyvXa  irXoia,  ical  aWa  iirnayuya,  hundred  '  of  the /nrf/A'rf  into  '  1,800 ', 

ical   aiTia   a/xa   t^    arpanri    dyovaat).  but  the  reading  is  '  eight  hundred '. 


90  ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 

Saubhuti  (Sophytes,  or  Sopeithes),  lord  of  the  fastnesses 
of  the  Salt  Range  stretching  from  Jihlam  to  the  Indus, 
who  submitted  without  resistance.^ 

The  The  fleet  was  to  be  protected  by  an  army  of  120,000  men 

marching  along  the  banks,  under  the  generals  above  named ; 
Krateros  having  the  command  on  the  right  or  western  bank 
of  the  river,  while  the  larger  portion  of  the  army,  accom- 
panied by  two  hundred  elephants,  was  led  by  Hephaistion 
along  the  left  or  eastern  bank.  Philippos,  satrap  of  the 
countries  west  of  the  Indus,  had  orders  to  follow  three  days 
later  with  the  rear-guard. 

Oct.  3i«         Thus  escorted  the  vast  fleet  began  its  memorable  voyage. 

'J;^-        .    At   daybreak   one   morning   towards   the   end   of   October, 
Voyage  to  •'  ^  _  ' 

first  con-  Alexander,  having  offered  libations  from  a  golden  bowl  to 
uence.  ^j^^  river  gods,  bis  ancestor  Herakles,  Ammon,  and  any 
other  god  whom  he  was  accustomed  to  reverence,  gave  the 
signal  for  starting  by  sound  of  trumpet.  In  stately  pro- 
cession, without  confusion  or  disorder,  the  ships  ([uitted 
their  anchorage,  and  moved  down  stream  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  crowds  of  natives  lining  the  banks,  who  had 
never  before  seen  horses  on  board  ship.  The  plash  of 
thousands  of  oars,  the  words  of  command,  and  the  chants 
of  the  rowers  wakened  the  echoes,  which  reverberated  from 
bank  to  bank,  and  enhanced  the  amazement  of  the  gaping 
throng  of  spectators.  On  the  third  day  the  fleet  reached 
the  place,  perhaps  Bhira,  where  Hephaistion  and  Krateros 
iiad  been  ordered  to  pitch  their  camps  facing  each  other 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  river.  Here  a  halt  was  made  for 
two  days  to  allow  the  rear-guard  vmder  the  command  of 
Philippos  to  come  up,  and  that  general,  on  his  arrival,  was 

^  The  position  of  the  kingdom  of  placing  the  capital  of  Sophytes  at 

Sophytes  is  fixed  by  the  remark  of  Old  Bhlra  (properly  '  Bahrah  '),  on 

Strabo    (xv,   30)   that  it    included  the  west  side  of  the  Jihlam.     For 

*  a  mountain  composed  of  fossil  salt  the  coins  of  Sophytes  of  Greek  type 

sufficient  for  the  whole  of  India'.  see  a»//^,  Plate 'Indian Coins  I',  fig. 

Curtius  (ix,  1)  misplaces  Sophytes  1  ;  and  Rapson,  Indian  Coins,  §§  1), 

on  the  west  of  the  Hyphasis,  and  11;    Catal.  of  Coi)is  in  the  Indian 

is   followed   by   McCrindle,  whose  Mnseum,  vol.  i,  p.  7.     The  restora- 

map  shows  the  kingdom  as  lying  tion  of  the  name  Saubhuti  is  due  to 

north   of  Amritsar,  an  impossible  M.  Sylvain  Levi  (/.  A.,  ser.  viii, 

position.    Cunningham  (^«p.  6W/.,  vol.  xv,  pp.  237-9). 
p.  1.55)  may  or  may  not  be  right  in 


COURSES  OF  THE  RIVERS  91 

« 

directed  to  convert   his   force   into   an    advance-guard   and 
proceed  along  the  bank  of  the  river. 

On  the  fiftli  day  after  leaving  the  halting-place,  the  fleet  Rapids. 
arrived  at  the  first  river  confluence,  where  the  Hydaspes 
met  the  greater  stream  of  the  Akesines,  The  channel 
where  the  waters  of  the  two  rivers  then  met  was  so  very 
narrow  that  dangerous  whirlpools  were  formed,  and  much 
disorder  Mas  occasioned  in  the  fleet.  Two  of  tlie  warships 
were  sunk  with  the  greater  part  of  their  crews,  and  the 
vessel  which  carried  Alexander  was  in  imminent  danger  of 
sharing  the  same  fate.  By  dint  of  great  exertion  on  the 
part  of  the  king  and  all  concerned  the  bulk  of  the  fleet  was 
ultimately  brought  to  a  safe  anchorage  under  the  shelter  of 
a  headland,  and  the  necessary  steps  were  taken  to  repair  the 
damage  suffered. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  spot  where  these  exciting  Position 

incidents    occurred.     The   confluence  of    the   two   rivers  at  2^^°"' 
,  .  nuence. 

Timmu  (N.  lat.  31    10  )  now  takes  place  quietly,  and  presents 

none  of  the  peculiarities  to  which  Arrian  and  Curtius  devote 

so  much  vivid  description.     All  that  can  be  said  is  that  in 

Alexander's   time  the  confluence  must  have  been    situated 

much  farther  to  the  north. 

Our  exact  knowledge  of  the  courses  of  the  rivers  in  the  Courses  of 

Panjab  and  Sind   begins  only  from  the   date  of  the  Arab  ^^^  "vers. 

invasion  in  712  a.d.,  more  than  a  thousand  years  subsequent 

to   the   expedition  of  Alexander.     Concerning  the   changes 

which  happened  during  that  millennium  absolutely  nothing 

is  known.     But  during  tlie  twelve  hvmdred  years  that  have 

elapsed  since  the  Arab  conquests  changes  on  a  stupendous 

scale  are  known  to  have  occurred,  and  it  is  certain  that 

similar  effects  must  have  been  produced  by  the  ever  operating 

causes  during  the  thousand  j^ears  which  intervened  between 

Alexander  and  Muhammad  bin  Kasim.^     During  the  known 

period,  earthquakes,  floods,  changes    of    level,   denudation, 

accretion,   and   alterations  of    climate   all   have   contributed 

to  transform  the  face  of   the  country.     The  delta  of   the 

^  Muhammad    was    the    son    of      '  Muhammad   Kasim,'  is   repeated 
Kasim.      Elphinstone's      blunder,      in  most  books  on  Indian  history. 


92  ALEXANDER'S    INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 

Indus  has  advanced  more  than  50  miles,  and  has  thus 
lengthened  the  courses  of  the  rivers,  while  necessarily 
diminishing  their  gradients  and  velocity.  One  huge  river, 
the  Hakra  or  Wahindah,  which  formerly  gave  life  and 
wealth  to  the  desert  wastes  of  Bikanir,  Bahawalpur,  and 
Sind,  has  ceased  to  exist;  the  Bias  (Hyphasis)  has  forsaken 
its  ancient  independent  bed,  and  become  a  tributary  of  the 
Sutlaj  ;^  while  the  other  rivers,  the  Indus,  Jihlam  (Hydaspes), 
Chinab  (Akesines),  and  Ravi  (Hydraotes)  have  all  repeatedly 
changed  their  courses  and  points  of  junction. 
Futility  of  These  facts,  although  indisputably  true,  have  been  generally 
catioiis'.  ignored  in  practice  by  the  historians  of  Alexander,  who 
have  pretended  to  trace  the  line  of  his  river  voyage  on 
modern  maps,  and  to  ^identify'  town  after  town  on  the 
banks  of  the  several  rivers.  All  such  identifications  are 
vain.  No  man  can  tell  in  which  of  the  ancient  beds  the 
Chinab  or  any  of  the  other  rivers  named  flowed  in  the  time 
of  Alexander,  and,  when  the  positions  of  the  rivers  are  not 
ascertainable,  it  is  clear  that  we  cannot  reasonably  expect 
to  identify  places  on  their  banks.  The  most  that  is  possible 
is  to  give  general  indications  of  the  course  of  the  voyage 
and  of  the  location  of  the  principal  nations  encountered  by 
Alexander.  The  sites  of  the  towns  and  the  precise  positions 
of  the  confluences  and  crossing-places  mentioned  by  the 
ancient  historians  cannot  be  determined.  Inasmuch  as 
the  courses  of  all  the  rivers  were  then  much  shorter  than 
they  now  are,  all  the  confluences  must  have  been  situated 

'  Raverty  gives  as  various  cor-  and  that  may  be  interpreted  as  re- 

rect  spellings,  Sutlaj,  Sutlaj,  and  ferring  to  twin  streams  more  or  less 

Sluittlaj.      This   river,   which   was  parallel,  but  not  necessarily  conflu- 

called  Satadru  in  Sanskrit,  is  rarely  ent.  Compare  the  reference  to  '  the 

mentioned  by  the  Greek  or  Roman  Vipas  together  with  the  Satudri '  in 

authors  under  the  name  of  Hesi-  the  Brihaddevatd  (Macdonell's  ed., 

drus.     The  Hypanis  of  Strabo  is  a  i,114).  The  Sutlaj  is  the  most  erratic 

variant  for   Hyphasis.     A  learned  of  the  rivers  of  the  Panjab.     The 

reviewer  of  the  first  edition  says  Bias  or  Biah  deserted  its  ancient 

that '  exception  may  be  taken  to  the  channel  about  A.n.    1790,  for  the 

strange  remark  that  the  Bias  was  first  time  since  it  is  heard   of  in 

in  early  days  not  a  confluent  of  the  history,   and    moved   towards   the 

Sutlej  (p.  8.5) ;   for  the  Rig  Veda  east,   combining  with   the   Sutlaj, 

says  that  one  flows  into  the  other  '.  which   shifted  westwards  simulta- 

The  only  i)assage  in  the  Rig  Veda  neously  i^ Raverty,  pp.  M)i;  .5().>  :  see 

which  mentions  the  Vipasa  is  iii,  3:5,  next  note). 


FATK  OF  TIIF  TRIBES  93 

considcnibly  farther  nortli  thuii  at  present,  and  this  a  yrior'i 
inference  appears  to  be  fully  supported  by  observation  of 
the  most  ancient  beds  of  the  streams.  The  confluence  of  the 
Akesines  and  Hydaspes,  the  first  of  the  four  confluences 
described  by  Arrian,  probably  was  situated  not  very  far 
from  the  modern  town  of  Jhant^,  and  approximately  in 
N.  lat.  31°.i 

Alexander  here  landed  his  troops  in  order  to  subjugate  The  Siboi 
the  adjoining  tribes  called  Siboi  and  Agalassoi  by  Curtius, '^"  , 
and  to  prevent  them  from  joining  the  powerful  nation  of  the 
Malloi  (Sanskrit  Malava),  who  dwelt  lower  down  the  river, 
and  were  known  to  be  preparing  for  strenuous  resistance. 
The  Siboi,  who  are  described  as  rude  folk  clad  in  the  skins 
of  wild  beasts  and  armed  with  clubs,  submitted,  and  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  freedom.  Their  neighbours,  the 
Agalassoi,  who  were  able  to  muster  a  force  estimated  at 
40,000  foot  and  3,000  horse,  ventured  to  resist,  and  met 
with  a  terrible  fate.  Multitudes  were  put  to  the  sword,  and 
multitudes  sold  into  slavery.  Alexander  advanced  some 
30  miles  into  their  country,  and  captured  their  principal 
town.  At  a  second  town  he  met  with  an  obstinate  defence, 
which  cost  the  lives  of  many  Macedonians.  The  inhabitants, 
said  to  number  20,000,  despairing  of  ultimate  success^  set 
fire  to  the  town  and  cast  themselves  with  their  wives  and 
children  into  the  flames.  The  citadel  escaped  the  fire,  and 
was  garrisoned  by  a  detachment  left  behind  for  the  purpose. 
The  lives  of  3,000  of  its  gallant  defenders  were  spared.  ^ 

^  The  text  is  mainly  based  on  &c. ;  the  Hydaspes  (Jihlara),  pp. 
Raverty's  valuable  work,  '  The  336-32 ;  Akesines  (Chinab),  pp. 
Mihran  of  Sind  and  its  Tributaries  :  336-32 ;  Hydraotes  (Ravi),  pp.  352- 
a  Geographical  and  Historical  71  ;  Hyphasis  (Bias  or  Biah),  pp. 
Study ',  in  /.  A.  S.  B.,  1892,  Part  I,  371-90  ;  Sutlaj,  pp.  391-418  ; 
with  numerous  maps,  which  has  not  Hakra,  pp.  418-22,  434-66;  gen- 
attracted  the  attention  that  it  de-  eral  results,  pp.  469-508 ;  earth- 
serves.  The  defects  of  form  in  that  quakes  and  floods,  pp.  392,  468, 
treatise,  which  is  overloaded  with  470,  &c.  ;  changes  of  level,  pp.  300, 
590  discursive  notes,  make  it  very  470  ;  alterations  of  climate,  pp.  282, 
difficult  reading.  The  observations  334,417;  extension  of  coast-line,  p. 
on  Alexander's  Indian  campaign  272  (note  235),  pp.  317,469,  501,  &c. 
are  scattered  through  the  text  and  The  whole  work  is  deserving  of  the 
notes,  and  mixed  up  with  remarks  most  careful  study.  The  author 
on  the  most  diverse  topics.  gives   full   references,  so   that  his 

For  general  comments    on    the  statements  can  be  readily  tested, 
futility  of  current  'identifications'  ^  Arrian,  Anah.  vi,  5;   Curtius, 

see  pp.  155,  226,  250,  469,  note  539,  ix,   4  ;    Diodorus,   xvii,   96.      The 


94  ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 

Voyage  to      Those   CM'ents    probably   took  place   to   the    north-east   of 
con-  Jhang,  the  operations  havhig  been  vuidertaken  in  accordance 

fluence.      ^vith  Alexander's  invariable  practice,  in  order  to  secure  his 
flank  and  rear. 

Information  having  been  received  that  a  confederacy  of 
the  Malloi_,  Oxydrakai,  and  other  independent  tribes  occu- 
pying the  river  valleys  was  being  formed  with  the  intention 
of  offering  strenuous  resistance  to  the  invasion,  Alexander 
hastened  the  movements  of  his  fleet  and  army  with  the 
object  of  attacking  the  confederates  severally  in  detail,  before 
they  could  mature  their  plans  and  combine  their  forces.  The 
fleet  and  the  bulk  of  the  army  received  orders  to  assemble  at 
the  next  confluence,  that  of  the  Hydraotes  (Ravi)  with  the 
Akesines  (Chinab,  including  the  Hydaspes  or  Jihlam). 
The  allied  Alexander  in  person  landed  with  a  picked  force,  largely 
composed,  as  usual,  of  mounted  troops,  to  operate  against  the 
Malloi,  the  most  formidable  of  the  allied  tribes,  who  occupied 
the  fertile  valley  of  the  Hydraotes,  on  both  banks  of  the 
river.  Their  neighbours,  the  Oxydrakai  (Sanskrit,  Kshudraka), 
who  dwelt  on  the  banks  of  the  upper  course  of  the  Hyphasis, 
altliough  ordinarily  at  war  with  the  Malloi,  had  resolved  to 
forget  old  enmities  and  to  make  common  cause  against  the 
invader.  The  rival  nations  cemented  the  alliance  by  whole- 
sale intermarriage,  each  giving  and  taking  ten  thousand 
young  women  for  wives. ^  But  personal  jealousies,  such  as  in 
all   ages  have  reduced   to  futility  political  combinations  in 

Agalassoi  are  distinguished  by  Dio-  tribes  are  mentioned  together  in 

dorus  only,   who  says   that  Alex-  early   Sanskrit  literature.     Weber 

ander  fired  the  town.    The  account  pointed  out  that  Apisali,  one  of  the 

in  the  text  follows  Curtius  in  re-  teachers  cited  by  Panini,  speaks  of 

spect  of  the  voluntary  immolation  the    formation    of   the    compound 

of  the    townspeople,    an    incident  '  Kshaudraka-Malava  (scil.  sena) ', 

quite  in  keeping  with  Hindu  char-  '  the  army  of  the  Kshudrakas  and 

acter,  and  often  repeated  in  later  Malavas'  (J.  A.  S.  B.,  pt.   i,   vol. 

times.     The   Siboi   were   probably  Ixi,  1892,  p.  60). 

the  ancestors  of  some  of  the  half-  The  MahahhOrata  couples  them 

wild  tribes  of  pastoral  Jats,  who  as   forming   part  of   the   Kaurava 

now  inhabit  the  sanae  region.     For  host  in  the  Great  War  (Pargiter, 

discussion  of  the  topography,  see  in  ./.  /?.  A.  S.,  1908,  p.  329,  citing 

my   paper,    'The    Position   of  the  Mbh.,  vi,   2106,  2584,  2646,   3852, 

Autonomous  Tribes  of  the  Panjab  3853,   4808,  5484,  5648;    vii,   183; 

conquered  by  Alexander  the  Great,'  and  viii,  137). 

in  ,/.  E.  A.  S.,  Oct.,  1903.     These  ^  Diodorus,  xvii,  98. 


74° 


Abhisaraj 

O  ■'!)% 


JAMU 

^lalkot  v;?.''^"',C""^^%  ^^^"' 


32° 


SKETCH  MAP 
showing  position  of 

AUTONOMOUS  TRIBES 
CONQUERED    BY  ALEXANDER 


Scale    of   Miles 

50 

I I I 


100 

I 


74° 


30° 


\^ 


Kalabagh 


SKETCH   MAP 

showing  position    of 

AUTONOMOUS  THrBES 
CONQUERED    BY  ALEXANDER 

Scale    of  M.les 


^ 


ALEXANDER'S  STRATEGY  1)5 

Indiaj  prevented  the  alliance  from  takiiii^  eil'ecl.  While  the 
allies  were  discussing  the  claims  of  rival  generals  to  command, 
Alexander  acted,  and,  with  masterly  strategy,  sweeping  down 
upon  the  Malloi,  extinguished  their  military  power  before  the 
Oxydrakai  could  come  to  their  aid.  The  forces  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  confederacy  should  have  sufficed,  if  properly 
handled,  to  annihilate  the  small  flying  column  at  Alexander's 
disposal ;  for  they  are  said  to  have  comprised  80,000  or  90,000 
fully  equipped  infantry,  10,000  cavalry,  and  from  700  to  900 
chariots. 

The  exact  strength  of  the  Macedonian  field  force  is  not  Alexan- 
stated,  but  it  must  have  been  very  small,  not  exceeding  gt^rategy. 
a  few  thousands.'  What  it  lacked  in  numbers  was  com- 
pensated for  by  its  perfect  mobility  and  the  genius  of  its 
general.  The  Macedonians  were  alarmed  at  the  magnitude 
of  the  opposing  forces,  and  a  repetition  of  the  mutiny  of  the 
Hyphasis  was  with  difficulty  prevented  by  a  stirring  address 
delivered  by  the  king.  By  two  forced  marches  across  the 
waterless  uplands,  now  known  as  the  Bar,  which  separate 
the  valleys  of  the  Akesines  and  Hydraotes,  Alexander  com- 
pletely surprised  the  Malloi,  most  of  whom  were  working 
unarmed  in  the  fields.  Many  of  the  helpless  wretches  were 
ruthlessly  cut  down,  ^without  their  even  turning  to  offer 
resistance,'  and  those  who  escaped  the  sword  were  shut  up 
in  the  fortified  towns. 

One  of  these  towns,  with  a  citadel  situated  on  a  com-  Capture  of 
manding  height,  Avas  stormed  under  Alexander's  personal 
direction,  and  2,000  of  the  garrison  were  slain.  Another 
town,  against  which  Perdikkas  had  been  sent,  was  found  to 
be  deserted.  The  inhabitants  fled  to  the  marshes  in  the 
river  valley,  but,  even  among  the  reeds  and  rushes,  they 
could  not  escape  the  weapons  of  the  Macedonian  cavalry. 
Alexander  then  pushed  on  to  the  Hydraotes,  and  caught  up 
the  retreating  Malloi  at  the  ford,  inflicting  severe  loss  upon 
them.    He  pursued  them  to  the  east  of  the  river  into  the 

^  It  consisted  of  the  hypaspist  the  mounted  archers,  and  half  of 

infantry,     the     foot-archers,     the  the  companion  cavalry,  or  horse- 

Agrianian  or  Thracian  Hght  horse,  guards.    The  force  can  hardly  have 

the  foot-guards  under  Peithon,  all  exceeded  7,000  men  in  number. 


96  ALEXANDER'S    INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 

country  now  kno\An  us  the  Montgomery  District,  and  took 
by  mining  and  escalade  a  town  inhabited  by  Brainnans.  The 
king,  with  his  customary  disregard  of  danger,  was  the  first 
man  to  scale  the  wall.  The  place  was  gallantly  defended, 
but  in  vain ;  '  about  5,000  in  all  were  killed,  and  as  they 
were  men  of  spirit,  very  few  were  taken  prisoners  '. 
Retreat  of  The  Malloi,  being  hard  pressed,  recrossed  the  Hydraotes, 
°'"  the  passage  of  M-hich  they  attempted  to  defend  with  50,000 
men ;  but  they  were  no  match  for  the  Europeans,  and  fled 
*  with  headlong  speed '  to  the  strongest  fortified  town  in  the 
neighbourhood.  This  small  town,  which  cannot  be  identified 
precisely,  and  was  situated  somewhere  near  the  boundary 
of  the  Jhang  and  Montgomery  Districts,  80  or  90  miles 
to  the  north-east  of  Multan,  was  the  scene  of  one  of 
the  most  memorable  incidents  in  Alexander's  adventurous 
career,  admirably  described  by  Arrian  from  materials  supplied 
by  Ptolemy.^ 
Alexan-  The    Macedonians,    already    masters   of   the   town,   were 

dangerous  ^"tlp'i^ouring  to  scale  the  walls  of  the  citadel,  when  Alex- 
wound,  ander,  thinking  that  the  men  bearing  the  ladders  loitered 
too  long,  snatched  one  from  the  man  carrying  it,  and 
mounted  the  wall,  followed  by  only  three  companions, 
Peukestas,  Leonnatos,  and  Abreas.  Standing  on  the  wall  in 
his  gleaming  armour,  the  king  was  a  mark  for  every  missile, 
and,  feeling  tliat  he  could  effect  nothing  where  he  was 
without  support,  boldly  leaped  down  into  the  citadel  followed 
by  his  three  comrades.  Abreas  soon  fell  dead.  Alexander, 
standing  with  his  back  to  a  tree  that  grew  near  the  wall, 
slew  the  Indian  governor  and  defended  himself  against  all 
comers  until  his  breast  was  pierced  by  an  arrow  and  he  fell. 
Peukestas  bestrode  him  as  he  lay,  covering  him   uith  the 

'  The   town    was    a    small    one  fought   in  the   valley   of  the   Hy- 

(Strabo,  XV, .'};}).   The  current  asser-  draotes,  where  they  occupied  the 

tion   that   it   should   be    identified  fertile   lowlands,  corresponding  to 

with   Multan    ( =  Mulasthanapura,  the  Montgomery  District  and  parts 

see   Real's   Iliuen    liking,  ii,  gTij  of  Jhang.     See  Raverty,  op.  cit., 

is  absolutely  baseless.     The  name  p.  364,  and  ray  article  in  J.  7?.  ^.  5., 

Multan   has   no  etymological  con-  Oct.,   1903.     Ptolemy   himself  did 

nexion  with  the  name  Malloi,  and  not  take  part  in  Alexander's   de- 

Multan  is  much  too  far  south.   The  fence,  as  some  authors  say  that  he 

campaign  against  the   Malloi  was  did. 


SUBMISSION  OF  MALLOI  97 

sacred  shield  brought  from  Ilioii,  while  Lconnatos,  although 
severely  wounded  like  his  surviving  comrade,  protected  him 
from  side  attacks.  Tlie  ladders  having  broken,  the  maddened 
Macedonians  were  for  a  time  powerless  to  help  their  king, 
but  at  last  a  few  managed  to  scrand)le  up  the  earthen  wall, 
while  others  broke  in  a  gate,  and  so  saved  Alexander,  who 
had  fainted. 

The  l)arbed  arrow  was  M'ithdrawn  by  a  bold  operation  which  His 
invohed    much    bleeding  and    threatened  immediate  death,  ""^^^ovcry. 
I)ut  Alexander's   strong    constitution  eventually  triumphed, 
and  the  dangerous  wound  was  healed.    The  infuriated  troops 
fell  upon  the  unfortunate  inhabitants,  and  slew  them  all — 
sparing  neither  man,  woman,  nor  child. 

When  convalescent,  Alexander  was  carried  to  the  Ily- 
draotes,  and  conveyed  by  boat  to  the  junction  with  the 
Akesines,  where  he  met  his  fleet  and  army,  under  the  conunand 
respectively  of  Nearchos  and  Hephaistion. 

The  survivors  of  the  Malloi,  whose  nation  had  felt  the  full  Submis- 

weight  of   Alexander's    hand,    now    tendered    their    humble  ^i^'iioj  .i,i(j 

submission,   and   the   Oxydrakai,   whom   fortunate  procras-  Oxydra- 

tination  had  saved,  feeling  that  resistance  would  be  hopeless, 

purchased  the  concpicror's  clemency  by  offers  of  tribute  and 

the  delivery  of  valuable  gifts.     Alexander,  stern  and  even 

cruel  to  those  who  opposed  him,  but  always  courteous  and 

generous  to  the  submissive,  readily  accepted  the  proposals, 

presents,  and  excuses  of  the  tribal  envoys,   a  hundred  in 

number,  who  are  described  as  dignified  men,  of  uncommon 

stature,  clad  in  purple  and  gold,  and  riding  in  chariots.    The 

presents  are  said  to  have  included  1,030  four-horsed  chariots, 

1,000  bucklers  of  native  manufacture,  100  talents  of  steel, 

great  store  of  cotton  goods,  a  quantity  of  tortoise-shells,  the 

skins  of  large  lizards,  with  tame  lions  and  tigers,  in  addition 

to  a  contingent  of  800  horsemen.^ 

'  These  details   are  taken  from  India.    Steel  of  peculiarly  excellent 

Curtius,  ix,  7S.   Arrian  (vi,  14)  men-  quality  has  been  produced  in  India 

tions  only  .500  chariots,  but  Curtius  from  remote  times.     Curtius  calls 

probably   had   good   authority   for  itfefruinca>ididujn,\vh'n:hisn.ssumed 

his  statement.    The  ancient  writers  to    mean    'steel',    not    *tin'  {for 

describe  Indian  cotton  as  'linen',  hlnar).    Tortoise-shell  (x<^""''/)  was 

which  has    never    been    made    in  still  an  article  of  Indian  trade  in 

1626  H 


98 


ALEXANDER'S    INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


Voyage 
to  conflu- 
ence with 
the  Indus. 


Changes 
in  rivers. 


Adminis- 
trative 
arrange- 
ments. 


Philippos  was  then  appointed  satrap  of  the  concpiered 
nations ;  and  the  fleet,  passing  the  tliird  confluence,  where 
the  Hyphasis  contributed  its  waters  to  the  stream,  continued 
its  voyage  to  the  fourth  confluence,  that  of  the  Aliesines 
(Chinfib),  inchiding  the  Ilydaspes  (Jildam),  Hydraotes  (Ravi), 
and  Hyphasis  (Bias),  with  the  ri\er  which  the  ancient  writers 
call  the  Indus.  But  it  is  probable  that  the  'lost  river  of 
Sind',  the  Hakra  or  Wahindah,  tlien  existed,  and  that  all 
the  Panjab  rivers,  including  the  Indus,  joined  it,  and  formed 
one  great  stream,  afterwards  known  as  the  Mihran  of  Sind. 

It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  determine  the  position  of 
any  of  the  confluences  in  Alexander's  time;  but,  long  after- 
wards, in  the  days  of  the  early  Arab  writers,  all  the  rivers 
met  at  a  place  called  Dosh-i-ab,  or  'tlie  Meeting  of  the 
Waters',  in  territory  now  belonging  to  the  Bahawalpur 
State. ^  Our  complete  uncertainty  as  to  the  courses  of  the 
rivers,  which  have  ranged,  as  the  old  channels  indicate,  over 
a  space  110  miles  wide  in  the  region  of  the  final  conflu- 
ence, deprives  the  remainder  of  Alexander's  river  voyage 
of  much  of  its  interest.  His  course  in  Upper  Sind  cannot 
be  indicated  even  approximately,  and  it  is  impossible  to  fix 
accurately  the  position  of  either  the  towns  or  the  n.itions 
mentioned  by  the  historians. 

The  confluence  of  the  combined  Panjab  rivers  with  the 
'Indus',  wherever  it  may  have  been  sitiuited,  was  appointed 
to  be  the  southern  boundary  of  the  satrapy  of  Philippos, 
to  whom  all  the  Thracians  were  made  over  along  with  an 
adequate   force    of   infantry    to    form    the    garrison    of    his 


the  first  century  a.  n.  (Periplus,  in 
Jnd.  Ant.  viii,  111).  The  state- 
ment of  Curtius  (ix,  7)  that  Alex- 
ander imposed  upon  the  Malloi  and 
Oxydrakai  '  the  tribute  which  the 
two  nations  paid  in  instalments  to 
the  Arachosians  '  is  unintelligible  ; 
and  the  name  '  Arachosians'  must 
be  corrupt.  Arachosia,  the  Kanda- 
har country,  cannot  possibly  have 
levied  tribute  from  tribes  in  the 
Eastern  Panjab.  Bacon  makes  a 
curious  and  inaccurate  allusion  to 
the  Oxydrakai  in  his  essay  '  On  the 
Vicissitudes  of  Things ',  apparently 


quoting  loosely  from  Philostratos, 
Life  of  A])oUonius  of  Ti/diKi,  ii,  c. 
'Mi  {Jnd.  Ant.,  I9()(i,  p.  335). 

'  Raverty,  op.  cit.,  p.  473.  The 
*  Meeting  of  the  Waters  '  was  near 
Bhagla  or  Baghlah,  which  is 
marked  on  the  India  Office  map  of 
3}  miles  to  the  inch,  in  approxi- 
mately N.  lat.  ^8°  20',  E.  long. 
70"  30'.  The  four  confluences  are 
correctly  enumerated  by  Arrian  in 
Antib.  vi,  ] i.  The  contradictory 
and  unintelligible  passage  in  the 
same  author's  ludika,  ch.  4-,  is 
hopelessly  corrupt. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  ARRANGEMENTS 


99 


province.  At  :il)oiit  the  same  time  the  Buctriaii  nohlenuui, 
Oxyartcs,  fatiicr  of  Alexander's  wife,  Roxana,  M-as  deputed 
to  the  Paropanisadae,  or  the  Kfihul  province,  as  satrap  in 
succession  to  Tyriaspcs,  M-hose  administration  had  been  un- 
satisfactory. A  city  was  founded  at  the  confluence  of  tlie 
rivers  with  the  '  Indus',  which  Alexander  hoped  to  become 
prosperous  and  famous.  Dockyards  also  were  constructed. 
Certain  independent  tribes,  whom  Arrian  calls  Abastanoi, 
Xathroi  or  Oxathroi,  and  Ossadioi,  submitted  or  were 
subjugated,  and  it  is  noted  that  galleys  of  thirty  oars  and 
transport  vessels  were  built  and  supplied  by  the  Xathroi.^ 
Although  it  is  impossible  to  determine  precisely  either  the 
correct  names  or  the  true  positions  of  the  tribes  in  Northern 
Sind  mentioned  by  the  various  ancient  authorities,  the  region 
occupied  by  the  tribes  referred  to  seems  to  be  that  lying  to 
the  north  and  south  of  N.  lat.  28°  and  between  E.  long.  69° 
and  70°  30'.  During  this  stage  of  the  campaign,  Krateros, 
who  hitherto,  from  the  beginning,  iiad  always  marched  on 
the  right,  or  western,  bank  of  each  successive  ri\er,  was 
transferred  to  the  left,  or  eastern  bank,  which  offered  greater 
facilities  for  movement  and  was  occupied  by  tribes  less  hostile 
than  those  on  the  other  bank.^ 


1  Arrian,  Anab.  vi,  15.  Accord- 
ing to  Curtius  (ix,  8),  Alexander 
came  to  a  second  nation  called 
Main  (whom  McCrindle  confounds 
with  the  Malloi  of  the  Ravi),  and 
then  to  the  Sabarcae,  a  powerful 
tribe  with  a  democratic  form  of 
government  and  no  king.  Their 
army  was  said  to  comprise  60,000 
foot,  6,000oavalry, and  .500 chariots, 
under  the  command  of  three  re- 
nowned generals.  This  nation  sub- 
mitted. The  name  Xathroi  (v.  1. 
Oxathroi)  looks  like  a  transcription 
of  the  Sanskrit  Kshatriya.  The 
Sabarcae  are  called  Sambastai  by 
Diodorus,  who  agrees  with  Curtius 
in  his  account  of  the  government 
and  military  force  of  the  tribe. 
Diodorus  (xvii,  102)  adds  that  two 
other  tribes,  the  Sodrai  and  Mas- 
sanoi,  occupied  both  banks  of  the 
river,  and  that  a  city  named  Alex- 
andria  was   founded   within   their 


borders,  and  occupied  by  a  colony 
of  10,000  men.  The  attempts  made 
by  McCrindle  and  many  other 
writers  to  localize  these  tribes  are 
necessarily  futile,  inasmuch  as  we 
do  not  know  where  the  river  was. 
The  mention  in  Anah.  vi,  15,  of 
Oxyartes  as  the  colleague  of  Pei- 
thon,  satrap  of  the  Lower  Indus,  is 
evidently,  as  Chinnock  rightly  ob- 
serves, due  to  corruption  of  the 
text.  The  Thracians  made  over 
to  Philippos  seem  to  have  been 
infantry ;  for  the  Agrianian  light 
cavalry,  who  were  Thracians,  took 
part  in  subsequent  operations. 

^  The  words  Std  t^s  'Apaxeoru/v 
Kal  Apayfaif  7^?  in  the  passage 
(Arrian,  Anab.  vi,  1.5)  describing 
the  transfer  of  Krateros  from  the 
right  to  the  left  bank  were  evidently 
a  blundering  marginal  note  which 
has  crept  into  the  text.  Krateros 
was  sent  from  a  point  above  the 

H  2 


100       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


Kingdom 
of  Mousi- 
kanos. 


Alexander  now  hurried  on  in  order  to  surprise  the  powerful 
monarch  called  Mousikanos  by  Arrian,  who  had  proudly 
abstained  from  sending  envoys  or  presents  to  the  invader. 
The  capital  of  this  stiff-necked  king  may  be  probably, 
althougli  not  certainl}'-,  identified  with  Alor  or  Aror,  the 
ancient  capital  of  Sind,  now  included  in  the  Sukkur 
District,  and  situated  in  N.  lat.  27°  39',  E.  long.  68°  59'. 
The  peculiarities  of  the  people  of  this  kingdom  excited 
the  surprise  and  admiration  of  the  Macedonians.  'J'lie 
inhabitants  were  believed  to  attain  the  age  of  a  hundred  and 
thirty  years,  their  longevity  being  the  result  of  good  health 
secured  by  temperance  in  diet.  Although  their  country  pos- 
sessed mines  of  both  gold  and  silver,  they  refused  to  make  use 
of  either  metal.  Unlike  the  other  Indians,  they  kept  no  slaves, 
employing  in  their  stead  '  young  men  in  the  flower  of  their 
age,  as  the  Cretans  employ  the  Aphamiotai,  and  the  Lacedae- 
monians the  Helots'.  They  also  resembled  the  Lacedaemonians 
in  observing  the  custom  of  a  public  meal,  at  which  the  food 
served  was  the  produce  of  the  chase.  They  declined  to  study 
any  science  save  that  of  medicine,  and  were  reputed  to  have 
no  system  of  civil  law,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  being 
confined  to  cases  of  murder  and  other  violent  crime.^ 


Subrais- 
sion  and 
revolt  of 
Mousi- 
kanos. 


King  Mousikanos,  like  the  Malloi,  being  completely  sur- 
prised by  the  rapidity  of  the  movements  of  Alexander,  who 
had  reached  the  frontier  before  his  departure  from  his  last 
camp  had  been  reported,  hastened  to  meet  the  conqueror, 
bringing  with  him  all  his  elephants  and  the  choicest  presents 


head  of  the  Delta  '  into  Karmania 
by  the  route  through  the  Arachotoi 
and  Zarangoi '  (t^i'  «ir'  'Apaxojrwv 
itnl  7Mpa-yya]v),  as  stated  in  eh.  17. 
McCrindle's  theory  that  Krateros 
was  sent,  as  stated  in  ch.  1.5,  and 
subsequently  recalled,  seems  to  me 
very  unsatisfactory.  I  have  al- 
ready noted  another  corruption  in 
the  text  of  the  same  chapter,  due 
probably  to  the  same  cause,  the 
absorption  into  the  text  of  an  er- 
roneous gloss. 

'  Strabo,   xv,    3t,   5t.      Strabo, 


on  the  authority  of  Onesikritos, 
points  out  that  other  authors  do 
not  seem  to  be  justified  in  assert- 
ing that  slavery  was  unknown 
everywhere  in  India.  Mcgasthcnes 
(Arrian,  hidika,  ch.  10),  affirmed  it 
to  be  a  great  thing  (fj-iya)  in  India 
that  all  the  Indians  were  free,  and 
that  no  Indian  slave  existed  {ov5i 
Tiva  SoGAoi'  (h'at  'Ii'Soi').  In  reality, 
mild  pracdial  and  domestic  slavery 
seems  to  have  been  an  institution 
in  most  parts  of  India  from  very 
remote  times. 


MOUSIKANOS  101 

which  Iiidlii  fould  offer.  Alexujulcr,  witli  his  h.ihitiial 
readiness  to  accept  suhmissioii^  received  tiie  kiiii;"  courteously, 
expressed  much  admiration  of  his  capital  and  realm,  and 
confirmed  him  in  his  sovereignty.  But  Mousikanos,  acting 
luuler  the  advice  of  Brahman  councillors,  (juickly  repented 
of  his  ready  submission,  and  revolted.  Peithon,  the  son  of 
Agenor,  who  had  been  appointed  satrap  of  the  country  to 
the  south  of  the  territory  entrusted  to  Philippos,  was  sent 
in  pursuit  of  the  rebel;  ^  while  Alexander  in  person  operated 
against  the  towns,  some  of  which  were  destroyed,  while 
others  were  occupied  by  garrisons.  Mousikanos,  having 
l)een  captured  by  Peithon,  was  executed  along  with  the 
Brahmans  who  had  instigated  his  defection.- 

Alexander  next  marched  with  a  flying  column  against  a  Oxykanos 
chief  named  Oxykanos,  who  was  taken  prisoner.  His  two  Sambos. 
principal  cities  having  been  sacked,  the  other  towns  in  the 
neighbourhood  surrendered  without  attempting  resistance; 
^so  much  were  the  minds  of  all  the  Indians  paralysed  with 
abject  terror  by  Alexander  and  the  success  of  his  arms.'^ 
Another  chieftain,  named  Sambos,  whose  capital  was  Sindi- 
mana,'*  and  who  had  fled  in  terror,  surrendered ;  and  more 
Brahmans,  who  had  instigated  the  revolt  of  an  unnamed 
town,  were  executed.  It  is  said  that  during  this  campaign 
on  the  Lower  Indus  80,000  of  the  natives  were  killed,  and 
multitudes  sold  as  slaves. 

After  the  execution  of  Mousikanos,  the  ruler  of  the  Delta, 
which  was  known  to  the  Greeks  as  Patalene,  from  its  capital 
Patala,  arrived  in  camp  and  proffered  the  submission  of  his 

^  Peithon  was  sole  satrap  of  tlie  cani ' ;  calls  Oxykanos  by  the  name 
Lower  Indus,  the  mention  of  of  Portlcanus ;  and  states  that  his 
Oxyartes  as  his  colleague  being  subjects  were  tlie  Praesti.  Accord- 
due  to  corruption  of  the  text  {ante  ing  to  him,  Porticanus  was  slain, 
p.  99,  note  1).  Tlie   same  author  states  that  the 

2  Kfjinacrai      'A\ffav5pos     Ke\(vei.  troops   of  Sambos    used    poisoned 

McCrindle   translates     '  Alexander  swords  (ix,  3). 
ordered  the  rebel  to  be  hanged':  '  Sinuimana  may   or    may    not 

Gronovius  renders  'Alexander  cru-  liave  been  Sihwan,  with  which  it  is 

cifigi  iubet ',  conmionly  '  identified ',  for  no  better 

*  OvToi  icai  'IvSol  ndvrfs  (S(Sov\wpto  reason  than  that  both  names  begin 

V^V  ■'"S  V^h])  ^p^s  'AKi^dfSpov  T€  Kui  with  S.    The  MSS.  read  Sindonalia. 

T^s  'A\e^av5pov  tvxv^.     The  transla-  Readings  of   names  in  Strabo  are 

tion  is  McCrindle's.    Curtius  speaks  open  to  much  doubt.    See  Diibncr's 

of  'the  people  known  as  the  Musi-  edition,  Didot,  Paris,  lHo3. 


102       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


Krateros 

sent 

home. 


Alex- 
ander's 
advance 
to  Patala. 


Patala. 


kingdom,  which  wiis  accepted.  He  was  sent  hack  to  his 
country  to  prepare  for  the  reception  of  the  expedition. 

Ahout  the  same  time  Krateros,  one  of  Alexander's  most 
trusted  lieutenants,  was  detached  with  orders  to  conduct 
a  hivgo.  portion  of  the  army  into  Karmania  by  the  route 
leading  through  the  territories  of  Arachosia  (Kandahar) 
and  Drangiana  (Sistan).^  The  troops  entrusted  to  Krateros 
comprised  the  brigades  (ra^et?)  of  Attalos,  Meleager,  and 
Antigenes,  besides  some  of  the  archers,  the  *  companions' 
or  guards,  and  other  Macedonians  unfit  for  further  active 
service.     The  elephants  also  accompanied  this  force. 

Alexander  in  person  retained  the  command  of  the  troops 
serving  as  marines,  A\hile  Hephaistion  was  given  supreme 
command  of  the  rest  of  the  urmy,  which  advanced  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  nvcr.  Krateros,  ^ho  had  been  transferred 
to  the  left  bank  in  Upper  Sind,  had,  of  course,  been  obliged 
to  recross  the  stream  in  order  to  begin  his  homeward  march. 
His  place  on  the  left  bank  was  now  taken  by  Peithon,  son 
of  Agenor,  who  was  given  a  mounted  foj-ce  of  lancers  and 
Agrianians,  with  instructions  to  place  colonists  in  certain 
fortified  towns,  to  suppress  attempts  at  insurrection,  main- 
tain order,  and  ultimately  rejoin  Alexander  at  Patala.  The 
prince  (i'Txapxos-)  and  people  of  that  city  fled  in  terror,  but 
\vere  mostly  reassured  and  induced  to  return  to  their  homes 
(Arrian,  Anab.  vi,  17). 

The  position  of  the  city  of  Patala  has  been  much  disputed ; 
but  the  best  opinion  is  that  it  was  at  or  near  the  very  ancient 
site  of  Bahmanribad,  situated  in  N.  lat.  25°  52'  and  E.  long. 
68°  52',  some  0  miles  westward  from  the  more  modern  city 
of  Mansuriya.  The  apex  of  the  Delta  was  probably  near 
Kalari,  about  40  miles  north  of  Bahmanabad,  in  approxi- 
mately N.  lat.  26°  40'  and  E.  long.  68°  30'.  For  tiie  discus- 
sion of  Alexander's  movements  the  identity  of   Patala  and 


'  All  the  experts  are  agreed  that 
Krateros  must  have  used  the  easy 
open  route  past  Kalat,  througli  the 
MuUa  Mula,  Mulloh)  Pass,  along 
the  modern  caravan  road.  Tlie 
liolan   and   Quetta  route   did   not 


come  into  use  until  recent  times 
(Holdlch,  The  Cntrx  of  Jmlia,  VJlO, 
p.  11-7;  Sykes,  1'en  Thousand  Miles 
in  l'ersia,\>.  49  .  Tiie  Mulia  Pass 
is  open  all  the  year  round  (Masson, 
Junrni-j/s,  ii,  120), 


THE  DELTA  103 

BuImKiiifibrul  may  be  assiuncd,  although  it  cannot  be  fully 
proved.^ 

Alexander,  considering  Patala  to  be  a  position  of  high  Explora- 
strategical  importance,  caused  Hephaistion  to  construct  a  ^)^.It^ 
citadel  there  and  to  dig  wells  in  the  adjoining  region.  He 
proposed  to  make  a  great  naval  station  at  the  point  where 
the  river  divided,  and  remained  sutHciently  long  on  the  spot 
to  see  some  progress  made  in  the  construction  of  a  roadstead 
and  dockyard.  He  then  resolved  to  explore  personally  both 
arms  of  the  river  down  to  the  sea,  and  first  sailed  down  the 
western  or  right  branch,  which  j)robably  debouched  near  or 
below  Debal,  the  ancient  port  of  Sind,  distant  about  15 
miles  from  Thatha  (Tatta).  His  sailors,  accustomed  to  the 
tideless  waters  of  the  Mediterranean,  were  thrown  into  a 
state  of  great  alarm  and  confusion  by  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  tide,  but  ultimately  Alexander  succeeded  in  pushing  on 
with  some  of  the  fastest  vessels,  and  reaching  the  open  sea. 
He  sailed  out  a  few  miles  into  the  deep,  sacrificed  bulls  to 
Poseidon,  and  followed  up  the  sacrifice  by  a  libation,  casting 
the  golden  vessels  used  in  the  ceremony  into  the  ocean  as 
a  thank-offering.^ 

'  Bahmanabad,    Bahmannih,   or  pp.    79-87).     Raverty's    discursive 

Bahmannu,   not  Brahraanabiid,  as  note  105  (op.  cit.,  pp.  196-205)  gives 

coininonly  and  erroneously  written.  much   information.     For  the  posi- 

Under  the  name  of  Bahmanabad  it  tion  of  the  apex  of  the  Delt<i,  and 

was   founded   by  Bahman,  son  of  the  city  of  Patala,  see  ibid.,  pp.  226, 

Isfandiyar,  'in  the  time  of  Gush-  461,462.  General  Haig,  who  greatly 

tasib,  ruler  of  Iran-Zamln.'  Bahman  underestimates  the  growth  of  the 

is    another    name    of    Artaxerxes  Delta,  is  certainly  wrong  in  placing 

Longimanus,   or   Ahasuerus,   who  Patala  below  the  latitude  of  Hyder- 

reigned  from  about  465  to  425  b.c.  abad  (N.  lat.  25°  23',  E.  long.  68° 

(Raverty,  Notea,  p.  510;  Reinaud,  25').     The   same    writer   was    not 

liid.  Ant.,  viii,  336).     He  was  the  aware  of  the  evidence  which   led 

grandson  of  Gushtasib.     But   the  Raverty  to  place  the  most  ancient 

site   is   much    more    ancient,   and  known  apex  of  the  Delta  40  miles 

includes  extensive   prehistoric    re-  above     Bahmanabad     {The.    hidus 

mains     {Progress     Report,     Arch.  Delta  Country,  pp.  1,  129,  135,  136, 

6'Mr)vy  tr. /.for  1896-7,  par.  30-50;  Kegan  Paur&  Co.,   1894).     Most 

ibid.,'for  1903-4,  pp.  133-44).     The  books    e.g.  Balfour's  Ci/clopaedia) 

site  of  Bahmanabad  was  discovered  erroneously    identify    Patala   with 

by  Mr.  Bellasis  in  1854  {Jo.  Bo.  Br.  Hyderabad. 

li.  A.  S.,  Jan.,  1856).     Mansuriya  ^  Curtius  (ix,  9)  gives  a  spirited 

has  been  built  from,  and  partly  on,  and  detailed  account  of  the  voyage 

the    ruins    of   the    primitive    city  from  Patala  to  the  sea.     Thathah 

(Cousens,  Annual  Rep.  A.  S.   W.  (Tatta)    is   in   N.    lat.   24°  45',  E. 

India,  1903-4,  pp.  132-44;  1908-9,  long.  67    58'.     In  the  seventeenth 


104       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


Prepara- 
tions for 
leaving 
India. 


He  then  returned  to  Patala,  where  he  found  the  works 
of  the  new  naval  station  well  advanced,  and  proceeded  to 
explore  tlie  eastern,  or  left,  branch  of  the  river.  Near  its 
mouth  he  passed  through  a  large  lake,  apparently  that 
now  known  as  the  Samarfih  lake  to  the  west  of  Umarkot, 
and  again  reached  the  sea-shore  in  about  latitude  25°.^ 
Having  spent  three  days  in  reconnoitring  the  coast  and 
arranging  for  the  construction  of  wells,  he  returned  to 
Patala.  Harbours  and  docks  were  built  on  the  shores  of 
the  lake,  and  furnished  with  garrisons.  Provisions  to  supply 
the  forces  for  four  months  were  collected,  and  all  other 
necessary  preparations  were  made  for  the  two  bold  enter- 
prises M-hich  he  had  plaimed :  the  voyage  of  the  fleet  along 
the  coast  to  tlie  Persian  Gulf,  and  his  own  march  with  the 


century  (Sir  Thomas  Herbert,  The- 
venot,  &c.)  Debal  or  DCwal  was 
the  southernmost  town  in  Sind, 
and  a  much  frequented  seaport, 
distant  about  1j  miles  from  Tha- 
thah.  The  town  has  now  utterly 
disappeared ;  but  it  must  have 
stood  near  to  the  shrine  of  Plr 
Patho,  or  a  little  farther  to  the 
south-west,  at  the  foot  of  the  Mak- 
kahll  hills,  and  near  the  Bhagar 
branch  of  the  Indus,  which  was  in 
those  days  a  very  great  stream 
(Raverty,  'The  Mihran  of  Sind,' 
pp.  317-31,  note  315).  Haig  puts 
it  at  a  ruin-covered  site  20  miles 
SW.  of  Thathah  (Holdich,  27j« 
flntes  of  India,  p.  310).  That 
identification  seems  to  be  correct. 
IJut  Raverty  (p.  3-il)  makes  a  slip 
in  saying  that  Herbert  landed  at 
'Diul.'  He  landed  at  '  Swalley 
Road',  ofFSurat  (Traceln,  ed.  1677, 
p.  42),  Diul  is  mentioned  by  him 
on  p.  SO  as  a  })ort. 

'  For  an  account  of  theSamarah 
lake,  see  Raverty,  op.  cit.,  pp.  4075, 
477.  It  is  marked  as  Samaro  on 
the  India  Office  map.  In  Alex- 
ander's time  the  Ran  (Runn)  of 
Cutch  (Kachchh^  must  have  been  an 
estuary  of  the  sea,  extending  north- 
ward toabout  parallel  2o°,  where  the 
eastern  arm  of  the  great  river  fell 
into  it.  The  lake  was  only  a  short 
distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  river 


(Arrian,  Anah.  vi,  20).  The  coast- 
line has  extended  enormously.  The 
spot  called  Mughalbln,  where  Ak- 
bar's  officer,  in  Queen  Elizabeth's 
time,  stood  to  get  a  view  of  the 
ocean,  is  now  quite  50  miles  from 
the  sea.  Farther  west,  at  Somni- 
yani,  near  the  Purali  (Arabios) 
river,  the  coast  has  advanced  at 
least  20  miles  since  Alexander's 
time.  Most  of  the  land  to  the 
south  of  Badin,  which  stands  in 
about  N.  lat.  24°  40',  has  been 
formed  since  the  reign  of  Akbar : 
the  coast-line  had  a  mean  latitude 
of  about  24  30'  in  the  eighth  century 
when  the  Arab  conquest  took  place. 
In  Alexander's  time,  a  thousand 
years  earlier,  the  coast-line  was,  of 
course,  considerably  farther  north, 
but  no  man  can  delineate  it  with 
any  approach  to  accuracy.  The 
parallel  of  25°  may  be  taken  as  an 
approximate  definition  of  the  coast 
reconnoitred  by  Alexander.  The 
land  at  the  Kohrai  mouth  (vulgo 
'  Khori  Creek')  now  extends  to 
about  23"  30'.  (See  Ravertv,  op. 
c-it.,  pp.  4fi8,  469,  470,  477,'  &c.  ; 
Haig,  op.  cit.,  pp.  136,  ]3!» ;  and 
a  good  paper  by  Mr.  R.  Sive- 
wright,  '  Culch  and  the  Ran,' 
6Voc/r.  Journal,  vol.  xxix  (lf)07),  p. 
518  ;  also  Sir  Rartle  Frere,  '  Notes 
on  the  Runn  of  Cutch,'  ibid.,  1871. 


ALEXANDER'S  PLANS  105 

Jinny  throut^li  Gcdrosiii  in  :i  direction,  so  far  as  nni^lil    he 
practicable,  parallel  to  the  course  ot"  the  fleet. 

His  plans  were  conceived  upon  a  comprehensive  scale.  Alexan- 
Nearchos,  the  admiral  who  had  successfully  commanded  the  Z^^^^^^ 
flotilla  durincf  the  ten  months'  voyage  from  Jihlam  to  the 
sea,  was  instructed  to  hvwj;  the  fleet  round  the  coast  into 
the  Persian  Gulf  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  tlie  Euphrates,  and 
to  record  careful  observations  of  the  strantje  lands  and  seas 
which  he  should  visit.  Alexander  himself  proposed  to  conduct 
the  army  back  to  Persia  through  the  wilds  of  the  country 
then  called  Gedrosia,  and  now  known  as  Makran,  hitherto 
untrodden  save  by  the  legendary  hosts  of  Semiramis  and 
Cyrus,  whom  he  desired  to  surpass.  The  king,  who  was 
independent  of  the  winds,  started  on  his  march  about  the 
beginning  of  October,  325  b.c.  Nearchos,  being  obliged  to 
watch  for  the  change  of  the  monsoon,  did  not  leave  his 
anchorage  in  the  ri^er  until  two  or  three  weeks  later. ^ 

Although  Gedrosia  has  usually  remained  outside  the  Gedrosia. 
Indian  political  system,  the  province,  or  part  of  it,  has 
been  included  from  time  to  time  within  the  dominions  of 
the  sovereigns  of  Hind,  and  its  history  cannot  be  regarded 
as  altogether  foreign  to  the  history  of  India.  But  the 
satrapy  of  Gedrosia  undoubtedly  lay  i)eyond  the  limits  of 
India  proper,  and  a  summary  narrative;  of  the  ad\'(Mitures 
met  with  by  Nearchos  on  its  coast  and  by  his  sovereign  in  its 
deserts  will  be  sufficient  to  complete  the  story  of  Alexander's 
Indian  campaign. 

Nearchos  was  detained  for  several  days  in  the  river,  and,  Alexan- 
after  much  difficulty  in  making  a  passage  for  the  ships  round  Haven, 
a  bar,  which  obstructed  the  mouth  of  the  western  branch, 
ultimately  got  out  to  sea.^      Contrary  winds   detained   him 

'  Nearchos  is  said  to  have  started  months.  Patala  was  readied  '  about 

from  his  anchorage  in  the  river  on  the  rising  of  the  dog-star',  July- 

the  twentieth  day  of  the  Athenian  August.      The    operations    carried 

month    Boiidroraion    (Sept. -Oct.),  out  at,  or  conducted  from,  Patala, 

3:25  B.  c.     This   date   seems   to   be  must  have  occupied  a  considerable 

correct.    Alexander  may  have  be-  time. 

gun  his  march  two  or  three  weeks  ^  '  Bar',  tpua  {Itidika,  21).    Some 

earher.     Aristoboulos  (Strabo,  xv,  authors    base    'identifications'  on 

17 )  is  the  authority  for  the  descent  the  translation  of  ipixa  by  'rock', 

of  the    rivers    having    lasted    ten  Arrian  goes  on  to  say  that  Nearchos 


Oreitai. 


106       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 

for  twenty-four  days  in  a  secure  harbour,  to  which  he  gtivc 
the  name  of  Alexander's  Haven.  The  coast-line  has  been 
changed  so  much  by  both  accretion  and  denudation  tliat 
attempts  at  detailed  identifications  of  places  near  the  mouth 
of  tlie  ri\er  are  waste  of  time,  but  it  is  safe  to  affirm  that 
the  haven  where  Nearchos  found  shelter  was  not  very  far 
from  the  modern  Karachi  (Kurrachee).  The  admiral  then 
crept  cautiously  along  the  inhospitable  coast,  his  crews  often 
suffering  severely  from  lack  of  provisions  and  fresh  water. 
After  travelling  100  miles  or  so  (850  stadia),  the  fleet 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  river  Arabis  (the  Purali),  which 
formed  the  boundary  between  the  Arabioi,  the  last  people  of 
Indian  descent  settled  in  this  direction,  and  the  Oreitai,  who 
occupied  an  extensive  territory  to  the  west  of  the  river.^ 
The  Ha\  ing  traversed  an  estimated  distance  of  800  stadia  more, 

the  fleet  reached  a  place  called  Kokala,  where  the  wearied 
crews  were  allowed  to  disembark  and  enjoy  much  needed 
rest.  Wiiile  the  sailors  Mere  reposing  here  in  a  fortified 
camp  [Indika,  23),  Nearciios  came  into  touch  with  Leonnatos, 
whom  Alexander  had  detached  with  a  field  force  to  subdue 
the  Oreitai  {Anab.  vi,  22).  News  arrived  that  a  great  battle 
had  been  fought  in  which  Leonnatos  had  defeated  the  natives 
with  terrible  slaughter.  The  Oreitai  are  said  to  have  lost 
6,000  men  and  all  their  leaders  out  of  a  total  force  of 
8,000  foot  and  300  horse.^  The  Macedonian  loss,  although 
numerically  small,  was  noteworthy  because  it  included  the 
colleague  of  Leonnatos,  ApoUophanes,  who  had  recently  been 
appointed  Satrap  of  the  country.^  Communications  between 
Leonnatos  and  Nearciios  having  been  established,  the  fleet 
was   repaired   and   victualled,   and   sailors   mIio   had    proved 

du|^  a  ( liannel  tlirough  '  tlic  softer  ApoUophanes    from    his    satrapy, 

part  of  the  bar  ',  'iva-nep  paKOaKdu  ^v  because  he  liad  utterly  disregarded 

Tov  (pnaroi.  his  instructions.     Arrian  then  goes 

'  Tlie  course  of  the  Arabis,   or  on  to  say  that  Thoas,  who  was  ap- 

Arabios,  has  changed  considerably.  jjointed  successor,  soon  died,  and 

-  Curtius,  ix,  {).  was  succeeded  by  Sibyrtios.     Cur- 

3  Arrian,   Indika,   23.     But   the  tins  (ix,  10 1  asserts  that  the  prede- 

sanie   author   asserts  in  Anahu.s-vi,  cessor  of  Sibyrtios  was  Meninon, 

vi,    27,   that   Alexander,   after    his  who  was  *  cut  of  by  some  malady  '. 

arrival   at   the    Gedrosian   capitiii,  I  cannot  reconcile  these  discrepan- 

Poura    (mod.     Bampur),    deposed  cies. 


THE  ICMTIIYOPHAGOI  107 

iin'flicioiit  at  soa  were  dnifled  into  tlic  army,  their  places 
being  taken  by  men  selected  from  the  troops  under  the 
command  of  Leoimatos. 

Continuing  their  voyage  westward,  the  ships  passed  along  The 
tlie  coast  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Tomeros/  which  was  ^'^vugcs. 
inhabited  by  a  race  of  savages,  ignorant  of  the  use  of  iron, 
and  armed  only  with  wooden  spears  charred  at  the  point  to 
harden  them.  These  wild  men  were  covered  with  shaggy 
hair  all  over  the  body,  and  had  claw-like  nails  strong  enough 
to  rip  up  fish  and  to  split  the  softer  kinds  of  wood.  Their 
clothing  was  made  of  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  or  those  of  the 
larger  fishes.  After  a  skirmish  with  the  savages,  the  fleet 
delayed  for  five  days  to  effect  repairs,  and  on  the  sixth  day 
reached  the  rocky  headland  named  Malana  (now  Ras  Malin), 
the  western  boundary  of  the  Oreitai,  who  were  not  sa\ages, 
but  were  dressed  and  armed  like  the  inhabitants  of  India, 
although  differing  from  them  in  language  and  customs.^ 

When  the  Malana  cape  had  been  passed,  the  inland  people  The  Ge- 
were  known  as  Gedrosioi,  and  no  longer  as  Oreitai.^     Tiie  ichtlwo- 
inhabitants  of  the  coast  continued  to  astonish  the  voyagers  phagoi. 
by  their  strange  manners  and  customs.    'These  poor  wretches*, 
we  are  told,  '  had  nothing  but  fish  to  live  on,'  and  so  they 
were  dubbed  Ichthyophagoi,  or  '  Fish-eaters  \  by  the  Greeks. 
Whales,   which   were  numerous  along  this   coast,   although 
very  alarming  to  the   sailors  of  the  fleet,  were    extremely 
useful  to  the  natives  on  shore,  and  supplied  the  materials  for 
the  better  houses,   which   were  built  of  whales'  bones,  the 
huge  jaws  serving  as  tloorways,  as  they  do  still."* 

^  Now  the  Hingol.  included  the  country  of  the  Oreitai 

'^  Diodorus  agrees  that  the  Oreitai  and  Arabioi   as   well   as  Gedrosia 

in  most  respects  closely  resembled  proper.     The  Oreitai  arc  supposed 

the   Indians,   but  adds   that  they  to  be  now  represented  by  the  Lumri 

were  in  the  habit  of  stripping  the  tribes    of    Las    Bela,    who    claim 

dead  and  exposing  the  bodies  in  llajput     descent.      The     Gadurs, 

the  jungles  to  be  devoured  by  the  one  of  the  Lumri  clans,  may  repre- 

wild  beasts.  sent  the  Gedrosioi. 

^  Arrian     here    uses    the    term  *  The  habits  of  the  people  on  the 

Gedrosioi  in  a  sense  narrower  than  coast    are    absolutely   unchanged, 

that  of  Strabo,  who,  when  describ-  Men,     women,      children,      dogs, 

mg  Ariana  (xv,  ch.  ii,  H,  9),  seems  camels,  cats,  and  cattle,  all  eat  fish 

to  bring  Gedrosia  as  far  east  as  the  {Geogr.    ./.,   1896,   p.  3S8}.      Philo- 

Ihdus.    No  real  discrepancy  exists  ;  stratus  was  correctly  informed  when 

the  Satrapy  of  Gedrosia  doubtless  he   wrote   that  '  the  sheep  of  the 


108       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


En- 
chanted 
isle. 


Arrival  of 
fleet  at 
Orniuz. 


Meeting 
of  Near- 
chos  and 
Alexan- 
der. 


The  seamen  on  l)oar(l  tlie  ships  of  Xearclios,  l)einf?  super- 
stitious like  the  sailors  of  all  ai^es  and  eountries,  M-ere  nuich 
frii^htened  at  the  weird  tales  told  ahout  an  uninhahited 
island,  which  Arrian  calls  Nosala  {Indika,  31),  and  is  now 
known  as  Astola,  Astalu,  Hashtalu,  or  Haftala— the  Sclera 
of  Piiilostratus.  It  lies  nearly  midway  hetween  Urmera  and 
Pasni  headlands,  and  is  to  this  day  as  much  an  ohject  of 
dread  to  the  Med  fishermen  as  it  was  long  ago  to  the  Greek 
sailors.^ 

Thus  threading  their  M'ay  through  all  dangers,  real  or 
imaginary,  the  explorers  made  their  way  to  a  port  called 
Badis,  near  Cape  Jask  at  the  entrance  to  the  Straits  of 
Ormuz,  and  so  came  into  touch  with  the  more  civilized 
province  of  Karmania.  Proceeding  through  the  straits,  the 
delighted  mariners  found  themselves  at  Harmozeia  (Ormuz), 
a  charming  place,  producing  everything  that  they  wanted, 
except  olives.  Here  the  men  came  ashore  and  were  grate- 
fully enjoying  their  rest,  when  some  of  the  more  adventurous 
spirits  strolled  inland,  and  were  astounded  to  meet  a  stranger 
wearing  Greek  clothes  and  speaking  Greek.  Tears  came  to 
their  eyes  as  they  heard  the  familiar  sounds  of  home  in  that 
strange  and  distant  land.  Explanations  having  heen  ex- 
changed, the  stranger  proved  to  be  a  straggler  from  Alex- 
ander's army,  and  gave  the  welcome  information  that  the 
king  was  only  five  daj's'  march  distant. 

Nearchos  and  Archias  at  once  arranged  to  go  inland  to 
meet  their  sovereign,  and,  after  many  difficulties,  made  their 
way  to  his  presence,  hut  so  ragged  and  unkempt  Mere  they 
that  Alexander  at  first  could  not  recoijfni/e  tiiem.     When  at 


country  .  .  .  are  queer  feeders— the 
shepherds  pasture  thcni  on  fish,  as 
theydoonfigs  in  CarhC  {Apollnnhis, 
iii.  .'j.'j). 

'  Holdich,  The,  Indian  Border- 
ftind  (Methuen,  1901),  p.  2<)G ;  Tlw 
(Jatm  (,f  Jtid'ta,  p,  160.  On  the 
whole,  according  to  this  author,  the 
coast-line  of  Makran  is  not  greatly 
changed,  and  most  of  the  ports  and 
landing-places  visited  by  Nearchos 
can  be  identified,  although  many 
islands   have    been    destroyed    by 


erosion.  The  name  of  tlic  province, 
which  is  generally  spelt  Makran  or 
Mekran,  is  written  Mukran  by 
Raverty.  Holdich's  lecture  en- 
titled 'A  Retreat  from  India' 
{J.  I'mhd  Sn-rlcf  Jn,<if.  India,  1894., 
p.  11-2,  with  map)  is  the  best 
modern  authority  for  the  details  of 
the  Gedrosian  march.  The  .same 
author  gives  a  map  of  Alexander's 
route  in  '  Notes  on  Ancient  and 
Mediaeval  Makran'  (fiVor/y.  ./., 
]8f»(i). 


VOYAGE  TO  THE  TIGRIS  109 

liist  he  was  convinced  of  liis  friends'  identity,   he  assumed 

hastily  that  they  must  be  the  sole  miserable  survivors  from 

iiis  lost  fleet,  and  was  in  despair  at  the  imagined  disaster. 

But  he  was  soon  reassured  by  Nearchos,  who  told  him  that 

the  ships  were  safe  and  sound,  liauled  up  at  the  mouth  <jf  the 

Anamis  river  for  repairs. 

The  admiral,  having  volunteered  to  conduct   tiie  fleet  up  Voyage 

the  Gulf  to  Siisa,   returned  to  the  coast,  to  which  he   was  !p^    ■ 

.  Tigris, 

obliged   to   tight   his  way,  and  thence  sailed  on,  with  little 

adventure,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates.     He  then  heard 

of  Alexander's  approach  to  Susa,  and  turning  back,  entered 

the  Tigris  to  meet  him,  and  'it  was  thus  that  the  expedition 

which  had  started  from  the  mouth  of  the  Indus  was  brought 

in  safety  to  Alexander'  (Arrian,  Indika,  42). 

The  difficulties  encountered  by  the  army  under  the  com-  Sufferings 
mand  of  Alexander  were  even  greater  than  those  met  and  ander's 
overcome  by  the  fleet  under  Nearchos.  The  king  seems  to  ^""y- 
have  been  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  the  Hala  range  of 
mountains,  which  terminates  in  Cape  Mcilin.  This  great 
obstacle_,  which  he  was  obliged  to  turn,  deranged  his  plans, 
and  compelled  him  to  penetrate  far  into  the  interior,  and 
for  a  time  to  lose  touch  with  the  fleet.  The  army  suffered 
agonies  from  thirst,  and  the  unfortunate  followers  perished 
by  thousands.  'The  blazing  heat  and  want  of  water',  Arrian 
tells  us,  '  destroyed  a  great  part  of  the  army,  and  especially 
the  beasts  of  burden,  which  perished  from  the  great  depth 
of  the  sand,  and  the  heat  which  scorched  like  fire,  while 
a  great  many  died  of  thirst.'  Ultimately,  the  remnant  of 
the  force  worked  its  way  back  to  the  coast,  emerging  near 
the  harbour  of  Pasni,  almost  on  the  line  where  the  telegraph 
wire  now  runs,  and  its  sufferings  were  at  an  end.  But  the 
soldiers  had  been  obliged '  to  burn  the  rich  spoils  taken  from 
their  enemies,  for  the  sake  of  which  they  had  marched  to  the 
utmost  extremities  of  the  East'.  The  success  of  the  general 
M'as  the  ruin  of  the  private. 

While    the    army   was   still   in    Karmania,   a   report  was  Revolt  in 
received  that  Philippos,  satrap  of  the  Indian  provinces  north 
of  the  confluence  of  the  Akesines  with  the  Indus,  had  been 


110       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


India 
aban- 
doned by 
Mace- 
donian 
govern- 
ment. 


Duration 
of  Alex- 
ander's 
campaign 


treacherously  murdered  by  his  mercenary  troops.  Although 
this  disquieting  communication  was  accompanied  hy  the 
information  that  the  murderers  had  been  slain  by  the  satrap's 
Macedonian  body-guard,  Alexander  Mas  not  then  in  a  posi- 
tion to  make  permanent  arrangements^  and  was  ol)ligcd  to 
content  liimself  with  sending  a  dispatch  to  India  directing 
Ambhi,  king  of  Taxila,  and  Eudemos,  commandant  of  a 
Thracian  contingent  on  tlie  Upper  Indus  (Curtius,  x,  1, 
11),  to  assume  tlie  administration  of  the  province  until 
a  satrap  could  be  appointed  in  due  course.  The  death 
of  Alexander  at  Babylon  in  the  following  year  (June, 
323  B.c.)^  effectually  prevented  any  attempt  being  made  to 
retain  effective  control  over  the  conquered  countries  east  of 
the  Indus. 

Wlien  the  second  partition  of  the  empire  was  effected  at 
Triparadeisos  in  321  b.c,  Antipater  practically  recognized 
the  independence  of  India  by  appointing  the  native  kings 
Poros  and  Ambhi  as  a  matter  of  form  to  the  charge  of  the 
Indus  valley  and  Panjab.  Peithon,  whom  Alexander  had 
appointed  Satrap  of  the  Indus  Delta,  was  transferred  to  the 
provinces  *  which  bordered  on  the  Paropanisadai ',  i.e.  to 
Arachosia,  &c.,  west  of  the  Indus,  and  India  was  abandoned 
by  the  Macedonian  government  in  realit}',  though  not  in 
name.^  Eudemos,  alone  of  the  Macedonian  officers,  retained 
some  authority  in  the  Indus  valley  imtil  about  317.^ 

The  Indian  expedition  of  Alexander  may  be  said  to  have 
lasted  for  three  years,  from  May,  327  B.C.,  when  he  crossed 
the  Hindii  Kush,  to  Mav,  324  b.c,  when  lie  entered  Susa. 


'  The  attempts  of  German  scholars 
to  fix  the  precise  day  of  the  month 
are  based  on  insufficient  data 
(Hogarth,  Vhilip  and  Alexunder  of 
Marfdon,  Appendix  . 

-  Diodorus,  xviii,  39  :  'Antipater 
then  divided  the  satrapies  anew.  .  , 
and  gave  India,  which  bordered  on 
the  i'aropanisadai,  to  Peithon,  the 
son  of  Agenor,  and  of  the  adjacent 
kingdoms  he  gave  that  which  lay 
along  tlie  Indus  to  Poros,  and  that 
along  the  Hydaspes  to  Taxiles,  for 
it  was  impossible  to  remove  their 


kings  without  royal  troops  under 
the  command  of  some  distinguished 
general.'  In  this  passage  the 
names  of  Poros  and  Taxiles  (i.  e. 
Ambhi,  king  of  Taxila)  evidently 
have  been  transposed.  The  Indus 
valley  would  naturally  fall  to  the 
share  of  the  Taxilan  king,  rather 
than  to  Poros,  whose  dominions 
lay  to  the  east  of  the  Hydaspes. 

""  Arrian    {Amdi.    vi,   -21)   writes 
vMi^noi ;  Diodorus  (xix,  ll)  writes 


ALEXANDER   THE    GREAT:     THE   TIVOLI    HERM 


ALEXxVNDER'S  SUBSTANTIAL  SUCCESS     111 

Out  of  tliis  period  about  nineteen  months  were  spent  in 
India  east  of  the  Indus,  from  February  or  Mareh,  326  b.c, 
when  he  crossed  the  bridge  at  Oliind,  until  September  or 
October  in  the  following  year,  when  he  entered  the  territory 
of  the  Arabioi. 

Looked   at  merely  from   the  soldier's  j^oint  of  view,  the  The 
achievements  wrought  in  tiiat  brief  space  of  time  are  marvel-  of  A^ex- 
lous  and  incomparable.     The  strategj^,  tactics,  and  organiza-  ander. 
tion  of   the    operations   give    the    reader   of   the    story    the 
impression  that  in  all  these  matters  perfection  was  attained. 
The  professional  military  critic  may  justly  blame  Alexander, 
as   his  own   officers  blamed  him,   for   excessive    display  of 
personal  heroism,  and  needless  exposure  to  danger  of  the 
precious   life    upon    which    the    safety   of   the   Avhole    army 
depended ;   but  criticism  is  silenced  by  admiration,  and  by 
the  reflection  that  the  example  set  by  the  king's  reckless 
daring  was  of  incalculable  value  as  a  stimulus  and  encourage- 
ment to  troops  often  ready  to  despair  of  success. 

The  descent  of  the  rivers  to  the  ocean  through  the  terri-  Three 
tories  of  civilized  and  well-armed  nations,  admittedly  the  fntej.- 
best  soldiers  in  the  east,  and  the  voyage  of  Nearchos  from  prises, 
the  Indus  to  the  Tigris^  may  fairly  be  described  as  unqualified 
successes.     The  third  great  enterprise,  the  retirement  of  the 
army  led  by  Alexander  in  person  through  Gedrosia  ^,  would 
have   been   equally   prosperous   but   for   the  occurrence   of 
physical  difficulties,  which  could  not  be  foreseen  owing  to 
the  imperfection  of  the  information  at  the  king's  command. 
But  even  this  operation  was  not  a  failure.     Notwithstanding 
the  terrible  privations  endured  and  the  heavy  losses  suffered, 
the  army  emerged  from  the  deserts  as  an  organized  and  dis- 
ciplined force,  and  its  commander's  purpose  was  attained. 

On  the  whole,  Alexander's  Indian  campaign  was  a  success.  Substan- 
It  was  not  really  marred  by  the  mutiny  at  the  Hyphasis.  If  *'^^  ^"^' 
his  soldiers  had  permitted  him  to  plunge  more  deeply  into 
the  interior,  he  would  probably  have  been  unable  to  main- 
tain the  communication  with  his  European  base  on  which 
his  safety  depended,  and  his  small,  isolated  force  might  have 
1  Gedrosia  (Strabo  and  Pliny) ;  Gadrosia  (Tadpwaia,  Arrian). 


cess. 


112       ALEXANDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


Asiatic 
weakness 


Effects  of 
Alexan- 
der's 
death. 


India  un- 
changed. 


been  overwhelmed  by  tlie  mere  numbers  of  his  adversaries. 
Koiiios  and  his  fellow  remonstrants  may  be  credited  with 
having  prevented  the  annihilation  of  the  Macedonian  army. 

The  triumphant  progress  of  Alexander  from  the  Himalaya 
'  to  the  sea  demonstrated  the  inherent  weakness  of  the 
greatest  Asiatic  armies  when  confronted  with  European  skill 
and  discipline.  The  dreaded  elephants  lost  their  terrors,  and 
proved  to  be  a  poor  defence  against  the  Macedonian  cavalry. 
The  unopposed  march  of  Krateros  from  Sind  to  Persia 
throug'h  Sistan  opened  up  an  alternative  land  route  and 
solved  the  problem  of  easy  overland  communication  with 
Europe.  The  circumnavigation  of  the  coast  by  Nearchos 
ga\e  Alexander  a  third  line  of  communication  by  sea,  and,  if 
he  liad  lived,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  would 
have  experienced  serious  difficulty  in  retaining  his  hold  upon 
the  Panjab  and  Sind. 

All  his  proceedings  prove  conclusively  that  he  intended 
tlie  permanent  annexation  of  those  provinces  to  his  empire, 
and  the  measures  which  he  took  for  the  purpose  were  ap- 
parently adequate  to  ensure  success.  But  Alexander's  pre- 
mature death  destroyed  the  fruits  of  his  well-planned  and 
successful  enterprise.  Within  three  years  of  his  departure, 
his  officers  had  been  ousted,  his  garrisons  destroyed,  and 
almost  all  trace  of  his  rule  had  disappeared.  The  colonies 
which  he  founded  in  India,  unlike  those  established  in  the 
other  Asiatic  provinces,  took  no  root.  The  campaign,  al- 
though carefully  designed  to  secure  a  permanent  conquest, 
was  in  actual  effect  no  more  than  a  brilliantly  successful  raid 
on  a  gigantic  scale,  which  left  upon  India  no  mark  save  the 
horrid  scars  of  bloody  war. 

India  remained  unchanged.  The  womids  of  battle  were 
quickly  healed ;  the  ravaged  fields  smiled  again  as  the 
patient  oxen  and  no  less  patient  husbandmen  resumed  their 
interrupted  hibours ;  and  the  places  of  the  slain  myriads 
were  filled  by  the  teeming  swarms  of  a  population,  which 
knows  no  limit  save  those  imposed  by  the  cruelty  of  man, 
or  the  still  more  pitiless  operations  of  nature.  India  was 
not  hellenized.     She  continued  to  live  her  life  of  'splendid 


CHRONOLOGY 


113 


isolation  ',  and  soon  forgot  tlie  passing  of  the  Macedonian 
storni.^  No  Indian  author,  Hindu,  Buddliist,  or  Jain,  niaUts 
even  the  faintest  alhision  to  Alexander  or  his  deeds. 


'  The  paradox  of  Niesc  to  tlie 
effect  that  the  wliole  subsequent 
development  of  India  was  depen- 
dent upon  Alexander's  institutions 
is  not,  I  think,  true  in  any  sense,  or 
supported  by  a  single  fact.  His 
words  are  :  *  Man  kann  daher  mit 
Recht  behaupten,  dass  von  den 
Einrichtungcn  Alexanders  die  gan/e 
weitere  Entwickelung  Indiens  ab- 
hiingig  gewesen  ist '  {Oeschichte  der 


(frtechischen  und  makedonlscheu 
Slaaten  seit  der  Schlachl  hei 
Chaerunea,  I.  Teil,  p.  508;  Gotha, 
1893).  The  often-quoted  lines  by 
Matthew  Arnold  Ohernumn)  are 
much  more  to  the  point : — 
'  The  East  bowed  low  before  the 
blast 

In  patient,  deep  disdain  ; 
She  let  the  legions  thunder  past, 

And  plunged  in  thought  again.' 


CHRONOLOGY   OF   THE   INDLVN   CAMPAIGN 
OF  ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT 

From  May,  327,  to  May,  324  b.c. 


327 
Early  in  May 

June     .     .     . 


August     .     . 
September     . 


November 
December 

326 

January    . 
January 

February 
February 

March 
April    .     . 
May     .     . 
Beginning 

July 


to 


of 


The  Advance. 

Passage  of  Hindu  Kush  mountains  over  the  Khawak 
and  Kaoshan  passes. 

From  Nikaia  (probably  Jalalabad),  Alexander  with 
picked  force  proceeds  to  the  subjugation  of  the 
mountains  ;  Hephaistion  with  rest  of  army  advanc- 
ing to  the  Indus,  probably  through  the  valley  of  the 
Kabul  river. 

Capture  of  stronghold  of  Astes  (Hasti)  by  Hephaistion 
after  thirty  days'  siege. 

Alexander  subdivides  his  force,  advancing  in  person 
against  the  Aspasians ;  he  crosses  the  Gouraios 
(Panjkora)  river,  captures  Massaga  of  the  Assake- 
nians,  and  massacres  7,()U0  Indian  mercenaries. 

Siege  of  Aornos. 

Capture  of  Aornos. 


Arrival  of  Alexander  at  bridge-head  at  Ohind. 
Halt  of  army  for  thirty  days. 

Passage  of  Indus    '  in   beginning   of  spring ";  halt  at 

Taxila. 
Advance  eastward. 

Arrival  at  the  Hydaspes  (Jihlam)  river. 
Battle  of  the  Hydaspes  ;  defeat  of  Poros. 


114       ALEXxVNDER'S   INDIAN   CAMPAIGN 


DATE  B.  C. 


July  .  . 
August  . 
September 


Sept.-October   . 
End  of  October 

325 
January 
Till  September  . 


Beginning 
October 


of 
End  of  October 


324. 
Early  in  January 

January  .  .  . 
February  .  . 
End  of  April  or 

beginning     of 

May 


323 


June 


Foundation  of  Nikaia  and  Boukephala  ;  passage  of 
the  Akesines  (Chinab)  river  near  the  foot  of  the  hills. 

Passage  of  the  Hydraotes  (Ravi)  river,  and  conflict 
with  tlie  Kathaeans. 

Arrival  at  the  Hyphasis  (Bias)  river  ;  refusal  of  army 
to  proceed  farther. 

The  Retreat. 
Retirement  to  the  Hydaspes  (Jihlam)  river. 
Commencement  of  voyage  down  the  rivers,  and  of 
march  of  army  escorting  the  fleet. 

Collapse  of  the  Mallian  power. 

Voyage  continued,  flghting  with  the  Sogdoi,  Sambos, 

Mousikanos,  &c. 
Departure  of  Alexander  to  march  through  Gedrosia. 

Nearchos  starts  on  voyage  to  the  Persian  Gulf. 


Arrival  of  Alexander  at  Poura  (Bampur),  the  Gedrosian 

capital,  sixty  days  distant  from  Ora. 
Halt  of  army  at  Poura. 
March  through  Karmania,  about  300  miles. 
Arrival  at  Susa  in  Persia,  after  about  500  miles  of 

marching  from  western  frontier  of  Karmania. 


Death  of  Alexander  at  Babylon. 


Note. — The  time  spent  by  Alexander  in  India  proper,  from  his  passage 
of  the  Indus  in  March,  3-26,  until  his  departure  for  Gedrosia  in  the  end  of 
September  or  the  beginning  of  October,  82.5,  was  about  nineteen  months. 
The  voyage  down  the  river  occupied  about  ten  months  out  of  this  period, 
and  the  march  from  India  to  Susa  was  effected  in  about  seven  months. 
The  march  from  the  Bactrian  frontier,  that  is  to  say,  the  Hindu  Kush,  to 
the  Indus,  and  the  subjugation  of  the  mountain  tribes  on  the  north- 
western frontier  of  India  were  completed  in  ten  months. 

I.  May,  827,  to  February,  326,  inclusive:  march  from  Hindu  Kush  to 
Indus,  about  ten  months. 

II.  March,  326,  to  September,  325,  inclusive:  in  India  proper,  nearly 
nineteen  months. 

III.  October,  325,  to  April,  324,  inclusive  :  march  to  Susa,  seven  months. 

Total  duration  of  exi'euition,  three  years. 


CHAPTER   V 

CHANDRAGUPTA  MAURYA  AND  BINDUSARA, 
FROM  221  u.c.  TO  272  b.c. 

When  Alexander  quitted  the  Panjjlb  he  posted  no  Mace-  Eudcraos. 
donian  garrisons  in  that  province,  making  over  the  care  of 
his  interests  to  king  Poros,  who  must  have  been  independent 
in  practice.  Ambhi,  king  of  Taxila,  was  also  entrusted  with 
authority  as  a  colleague  of  Poros.  After  the  assassination  of 
Philippos,  Alexander  had  sent  orders  from  Karmania  to 
Eudemos,  commandant  of  a  Thracian  garrison  on  the  Indus, 
to  act  as  Resident  pending  the  appointment  of  a  satrap, 
and  to  supervise  the  native  princes.  But  the  officer  had 
no  adequate  force  at  his  command  to  enforce  his  authority, 
which  must  have  been  purely  nominal.  He  managed,  how- 
ever, to  remain  in  India,  probably  somewhere  in  the  basin 
of  the  Indus,  until  about  317  B.C.,  when  he  departed  to  help 
Eumenes  against  Antigonos,  taking  with  him  a  hundred 
and  twenty  elephants,  and  a  small  force  of  infantry  and 
cavalry.  He  had  obtained  the  elephants  by  treacherously 
slaying  a  native  prince,  perhaps  Poros,  with  whom  he  had 
been  associated  as  a  colleague.^ 

The  province  of  Sind,  on  the  Lower  Indus,  below  the  great  Peithon, 
confluence  of  the  rivers,  which  had  been  entrusted  by 
Alexander  to  Peithon,  son  of  Agenor,  remained  under  Greek 
influence  for  a  period  still  shorter.  At  the  time  of  the 
second  partition  of  the  Macedonian  empire  in  321  B.C.  at 
Triparadeisos,  Antipater  was  avowedly  unable  to  exercise 
any  effective  control  over  the  Indian  Rajas,^  and  Peithon 
had  been  obliged  already  to  retire  to  the  west  of  the  Indus. 

^  'Ek  Si   Trjs  'IvSiKTJi  EvSa/xos  Trap-  (povqaas  Tlwpov  [v.  I,  rTpu)Tov'\  tov  fiaai- 

(yev(To  jXiO'    Inirfoju  pitv  TTivraKoaiojf  \ia  (Diodorus,  xix,  14). 

[v.  I.  T piaKoa'iojv],  irt^oijv  Se  rpiaxt^iooi'  ^  Ov  fdp  ^v  tovtovs  tovs  PaffiXn^ 

[v.l.TptaKoaiaiv'],  (Kecpai'Taiy  5(  eKarijy  (xeTaKiurjaai   x^P^^  fiaaiXiKfj-i  Swdfieaii 

t'lKoac    TO.   54    Orjp'ia    ravra    irapfKalSe  jcai    fiyef^ot'ias    iniipayovs    (Diodorus, 

fterd  TTiv  ' A\e^dvdpov  nKevr-qv,  5oAo-  xviii,  39). 

I  2 


revolt. 


116       CHANDRAGUPTA    AND   RINDUSARA 

Tlic  Iiuliaii  provinces  to  the  c;ist  of  the  river  were  con- 
sequently ignored  in  the  partition,  and  Peithon  was  content 
to  accept  the  government  of  the  regions  bordering  on  the 
Paropanisadai,  or  Kabul  countr}'.  That  country  probably 
continued  to  be  administered  by  Roxana's  father  Oxyartes, 
whom  Alexander  had  appointed  satrap.  Sibyrtios  was 
confirmed  in  the  government  of  Arachosia  and  Gedrosia; 
Stasandros,  the  Cyprian,  was  given  Aria  and  Drangiana,  and 
his  countryman  Stasanor  Mas  appointed  governor  of  Bactria 
and  Sogdiana.^  These  arrangements  clearly  prove  that  in 
321  B.C.,  within  two  years  of  Alexander's  death,  the  Greek 
power,  to  the  east  of  the  Indus,  had  been  extinguished,  witii 
the  slight  exception  of  the  small  territory,  wherever  it  may 
have  been,  which  Eudemos  managed  to  hold  for  some  four 
years  longer. 
Native  The  insecurity  of  the  Macedonian  authority  in  the  ne\\ly 

annexed  Indian  pro^•inces  had  been  proved  by  the  assassina- 
tion of  Philippos,  tlie  report  of  M'hich  Mas  received  while 
Alexander  M'as  in  Karmania,  and  might  be  expected  to 
return  some  day  to  the  scene  of  his  victories.  His  death  in 
June,  323  B.C.,  dispelled  all  fears  of  bis  return,  and  the 
native  princes  undoubtedly  took  the  earliest  possible  oppor- 
tunity to  assert  their  independence  and  exterminate  the 
weak  foreign  garrisons.  The  news  of  Alexander's  decease 
was  known  in  India  probably  as  early  as  August,  but  no 
serious  fighting  Mould  have  been  undertaken  by  ordinary 
commanders  until  the  beginning  of  the  cold  season  in 
October ;  for  Alexander's  indifference  to  climatic  conditions 
Mas  not  shared  by  Indian  chiefs,  who  were  accustomed  to 
regulate  their  military  movements  strictly  in  accordance  with 
precedent.  We  may  feel  assured  that  as  soon  as  the  news 
of  the  conqueror's  death  had  been  confirmed  beyond  doubt, 
and  the  season  permitted  the  execution  of  military  opera- 
tions M'ith  facility,  a  general  rising  took  place,  and  that 
Macedonian   authority    in    India    Mas    at    an    end    early    in 

^  'Apinv  Si  Kal  Apayyiaprjv  ^raadu-  9).     McCrindle  (Invasion  of  India 

hfHu  TOT  Kvn()i({)-  TTiv  bt  BaicTpiay^v  /cat  bi/  A/e.caii(li-r  the  Great,  2nd  ed.,  p. 

'S.nyhiaviiv   'S.Taaai'ofti   ri  "ZuXicii,    unu  il  1)  confounds  these  two  officers. 
T»;»  aiiTiji  CvTi  frjaov  (Diodorus,  xviii, 


EARLY  LIFE  OF  CIIANDRAGUPTA         117 

322    B.C.,  except    the    siiiall    remnant    to    which   Eudomos 

continued  to  cling. 

The  leader  of  the  revolt  against  tiie  foreigners  was  an  able  Early  life 

adventm-er,  Chandragnpta   bv  name,  at  that  time  a  vouniT  j^  Chan- 
'  n    1  J  J  J         i->  dragupta. 

man,  probably  not  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
Although  he  was  on  the  father's  side  a  scion  of  the  royal 
house  of  Magadha — the  principal  state  in  Northern  India — 
his  mother,  or,  according  to  another  version,  his  grandmotiier, 
was  of  lowly  origin,  and,  in  accordance  with  Hindu  law,  he 
belonged  to  her  caste,  and   had  to  bear  the    reproach  of  ^.  q 

inferior  social  rank.  The  family  name  Maiirya,  assumed  by  ^h^ 
the  members  of  the  dynasty  founded  by  Chandragnpta,  is 
said  to  be  a  derivative  from  Mura,  his  mother's  or  grand- 
mother's name.  In  some  way  or  other  young  Chandragnpta 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  kinsman,  Mahapadma  Nanda, 
the  reigning  king  of  Magadha,  and  was  obliged  to  go  into 
exile. ^  During  his  banishment  he  had  the  good  fortune  to 
see  Alexander,  and  is  said  to  have  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  Macedonian  king,  if  he  had  advanced,  would  have  made 
an  easy  conquest  of  the  great  kingdom  on  the  Ganges,  by 
reason  of  the  extreme  unpopularity  of  the  reigning  monarch.^ 
Mahapadma  Nanda  was  reputed  to  be  the  son  of  a  barber, 
who  had  secured  the  affections  of  the  late  queen.  The 
guilty  pair  had  then  murdered  the  king,  whose  throne  was 
seized  by  the  barber-paramour.  His  son,  the  now  reigning 
monarch,  was  avaricious  and  profligate,  and  naturally  pos- 
sessed few  friends. 

Chandragnpta,  having  collected,  during  his  exile,  a  for-  Usurpa- 
midable  force  of  the  warlike  and  predatory  clans  on   the  tion  of 
north-western  frontier,  attacked   the   Macedonian  garrisons  Magadha. 
after   Alexander's   death,   and   conquered   the    Panjt\b.     It  332  b.  c. 
appears  probable  that  before  he  undertook  the  expulsion  of 

1  'He  was  born  in  humble  life.  .  .  McCrindle,  pp.  327,  405).  The 
when  by  his  insolent  behaviour  he  Mudrd  Rdkshasa  play  lays  great 
had  offended  Nandrus  [  =  Nanda],  emphasis  on  the  low-caste  origin  of 
and  was  ordered  by  that  king  to  Chandragupta,  and  on  his  relation- 
be  put  to  death,  he  sought  safety  ship  to  the  Nanda  king.  In  these 
by  a  speedy  flight'  (Justin,  xv,  matters  I  am  convinced  that  the 
4.,  with  von  Gutschmid's  emenda-  play  is  based  on  genuine  tradition, 
tion  of  Nandrum  for  Alexandrum,  ^  Plutarch,  Alexander,  eh.  62. 


118        CHANDRAGUPTA  AND   BINDUSARA 

the  foreign  garrisons,  he  had  already  overthroAvn  his  unpopular 
relation,  the  Nanda  king  of  Magadha,  whom  he  deposed  and 
slew.  The  dramatist  who  tells  the  story  asserts,  and  no 
doubt  with  truth,  that  Nanda's  race  perished  utterly  and  was 
exterminated.  The  adviser  of  the  youthful  and  inexperienced 
Chandragupta  in  this  revolution  was  a  subtle  Brahman 
named  Chanakya,  or  Kautilya,  by  whose  aid  he  succeeded 
in  seizing  the  vacant  throne.  But  the  people  did  not  gain 
much  by  the  change  of  masters,  because  Chandragupta, 
^  after  his  victory,  forfeited  by  his  tyramiy  all  title  to  the 
name  of  liberator,  oppressing  with  servitude  the  verj'^  people 
whom  he  had  emancipated  from  foreign  thraldom.'  He  in- 
herited from  his  Nanda  predecessor  a  huge  army,  which  he 
increased  until  it  numbered  30,000  cavalry,  9,000  elephants, 
600,000  infantry,  and  a  multitude  of  chariots.  With  this 
irresistible  force  all  the  Northern  States,  probably  as  far  as 
the  Narbada,  or  even  farther,  were  overrun  and  subjugated ; 
so  that  the  dominions  of  Chandragupta,  the  first  historical 
])aramo\nit  sovereign  or  Emperor  in  India,  extended  from 
the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  the  Arabian  Sea. 

While  Chandragupta  was  engaged  in  the  consolidation  of 
his  empire,  a  rival  was  laying  the  foundations  of  his  power 
in  Western  and  Central  Asia,  and  preparing  to  attempt  the 
recovery  of  Alexander's  Indian  conquests.  In  the  coiu'se  of 
the  internecine  struggle  between  the  generals  of  Alexander, 
two  had  emerged  as  competitors  for  supreme  power  in  Asia — 
Antigonos  and  Seleukos,  who  afterwards  became  known  as 
Nikator,  or  the  Conqueror.  Fortune  at  first  favoured 
Antigonos,  and  drove  his  antagonist  into  exile ;  but,  in 
312  B.C.,  Seleukos  recovered  possession  of  Babylon,  and  six 
years  later  felt  himself  justified  in  assuming  the  regal  st5de 
and  title.  He  is  conventionally  described  as  king  of  Syria, 
but  was  in  reality  the  lord  of  Western  and  Central  Asia.^ 
The  eastern  provinces  of  his  realm  extended  to  the  borders 
of  India;  and  he  natm'ally  desired  to  recover  the  Mace- 
donian conquests  in  that  country,  which  had  been  practically 
abandoned,  although  never  fornudly  relinquished.  In  pursuit 
'  See  Mr.  Bevan's  work,  The  House  of  Seleucus. 


SELEUKOS  AND  CIIANDRAGUPTA  119 

of  this  object  Seleukos  crossed  the  Indus  in  or  ;ibo\it  305  ii.c,  305  n.  c. 
and  attempted  to  imitate  the  victorious  marcii  of  Alexander.^ 
The  details  of  the  campaign  are  not  known,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  determine  how  far  the  invading  army  penetrated 
into  the  Gangetic  valley,  if  at  all,  but  the  result  of  the  war  is 
certain. 

When  the  shock  of  battle  came,  the  hosts  of  Chandragupta  Treaty 
M'ere  too  strong  for  the  invader,  and  Seleukos  was  obliged  Seleukos 

to   retire   and   conclude   a   humiliating    peace.      Not    only  ^nd  Chan- 
1  11    1  11  11      1         1  p  draguptfi. 

was    he    compelled    to    abandon    all    thought    or    conquest 

in  India,  but  he  was  constrained  to  surrender  a  large  part 

of  Ariana  to  the  west  of  the  Indus.     In  exchange  for  the 

comparatively  trifling  equivalent  of  five  hinidred  elephants, 

Chandragupta  received  the  satrapies  of  the  Paropanisadai, 

Aria,  and  Arachosia,  the  capitals  of  wbicli  were  respectively 

the  cities  now  known  as  Kabul,  Herat,  and  Kandahilr.     The 

satrapy  of  Gedrosia,  or  at  least  the  eastern   portion  of  it, 

seems  also  to  have  been  included  in  the  cession,  and  the  high 

contracting  powers   ratified   the   peace    by    ^a  matrimonial 

alliance ',  which  phrase  probably  means  that  Seleukos  gave 

a  daughter  to  his  Indian  rival.     This  treaty  may  be  dated  303  b.c. 

in  303  B.C.     As  soon  as  it  was  concluded  Seleukos  started 

on  his  long  marcli  westward  to  confront  Antigonos,  whom 

he  defeated  and  slew  at  Ipsos  in  Phrygia  in  301  b.c.^     Ipsos  301  b.c. 

being  distant  at  least  2,500  miles  from  the  Indus,  the  march 

to  it  must  have  occu^^ied  a  year  or  more. 

The  range  of  the  Hindu  Kush  mountains,  known  to  the  North- 
"  western 

frontier. 

^  '  Transitum  deinde   in  Indiam  Hyphasis.    The  facts  that  Seleukos 

fecit',    &c.     (Justin,    xv,    4);     koi  retired     from     India,     giving     up 

rbv  'Ivhov  vipaaas  ino\ei.ir](rev  'AvSpo-  valuable  provinces  in  exchange  for 

KOTTco  [Chandragupta],  ffaaiXei  rSiv  only  500  elephants  out  of  the  9,000 

■nepl  avrbv  'Ii'Scoi',  /xe'xpt  <f>iX'iav  avrw  possessed  by  Chandragupta,   that 

ical    KTj^oi    awiOero    (Appian,    Si/r.  he     entered    into    a    matrimonial 

55).     Strabo  (Bk.  ii,  ch.  ii,  9)  sub-  alliance,  and  sent  an  ambassador, 

stitutes   for   the   last    two   words,  clearly  indicate  the  real  nature  of 

avvOffifvoi  imyan'iav.  the    relations    between    the    sove- 

-  Niese's    notion   that  Chandra-  reigns.     Megasthenes  exhibits  the 

gupta  recognized  the   sovereignty  greatest    respect    for    the    Indian 

of    Seleukos    {die    Oherhoheit    des  monarch,  and  never  presumed  to 

Seleukos  anerkaiinie)  has  no  foun-  regard  himself  as  the  Resident  at 

dation,   except  the  anecdote   that  the  court  of  a  feudatory.    Concern- 

Chandragupta  paid  honour  to  the  ing   the  extent  of  the  cession  of 

altars  set  up  by  Alexander  at  the  Ariana  see  Appendix  F. 


120        CIIANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSxARA 


298  B.  c. 


Mega- 
sthenes, 
c.  302  B.  c. 


Greeks  as  the  Pan)])anisos  or  Indian  Caucasus,  in  this  way 
became  tlie  frontier  between  Chandragupta's  provinces  of 
Herjit  and  Kabul  on  the  south^  and  the  Seleukidan  province 
of  Bactria  on  the  north.  The  first  Indian  emperor,  more 
than  two  thousand  years  ago,  thus  entered  into  possession 
of  tliat  ^scientific  frontier^  sighed  for  in  vain  l)y  his  EngUsh 
successors,  and  never  held  in  its  entirety  even  by  the  Moghal 
monarclis  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 

In  the  course  of  some  eighteen  years  Chandragupta  liad 
expelled  the  Macedonian  garrisons  from  the  Panjab  and 
Sind,  repulsed  and  humbled  Seleukos  the  Conqueror,  and 
established  himself  as  undisputed  supreme  lord  of  at  least 
all  Northern  India  and  a  large  part  of  Ariana.  These 
achievements  fairly  entitle  him  to  rank  among  the  greatest 
and  most  successful  kings  known  to  history.  A  realm  so 
vast  and  various  as  that  of  Chandragupta  was  not  to  be 
governed  by  weakness.  The  strong  hand  which  won  the 
empire  was  needed  to  keep  it,  and  the  government  was 
administered  with  stern  severity.^  About  six  years  after  the 
withdrawal  of  Seleukos,  Chandragupta  either  abdicated  or 
died  (298  B.C.),  and  handed  on  the  imperial  succession  to 
his  son  BindusJira,  who  is  also  known  by  the  title  of  Amitra- 
ghata,  *  Slayer  of  Foes.^ 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  in  or  about  303  n.c, 
Seleukos  had  sent  as  his  envoy  to  the  court  of  Chandragupta 
an  officer  named  Megasthenes,  who  had  been  employed  under 
Sibyrtios,  satrap  of  Arachosia.  The  envoy  resided  for  a  con- 
siderable time  at  Pataliputra  (now  Patna),  the  capital  of  the 
Indian  empire,  and  employed  his  leisure  in  compiling  an  ex- 
cellent account  of  the  geography,  products,  and  institutions  of 
India,  which  continued  to  be  the  principal  authority  on  the 
subject  until  modern  times.  Although  often  misled  by 
erroneous  information  received  from  others,  Megasthenes  is 


'  Justin,  XV,  1,  and  the  details 
given  by  Megasthenes.  The  pas- 
sage in  Justin's  compilation  is  one 
of  tlie  niosl  important  concerning 
Chandragupta.  The  testimonies  of 
the  various  Greek  and  Homan 
authors  are  collected  in  McCrindle's 


books  and  in  Wilson's  preface  to  his 
translation  of  the  Mudrd  linkshasa. 
That  play,  probably  composed  in 
the  fifth  century,  undoubtedly  em- 
bodies a  genuine  histori<'al  tradi- 
tion, of  which  I  have  made  cautious 
use. 


PATALIPUTRA  121 

a  veracious  and  trustworthy  witness  concerninc^  matters  which 
came  under  his  personal  ohservation^  and  his  vivid  account 
of  Chandragupta's  civil  and  military  administration  may  be 
accepted  without  hesitation  as  true  and  accurate.^  That 
account,  although  preserved  in  a  fragmentary  form,  is  so  full 
and  detailed  that  a  modern  reader  is  more  minutely  informed 
in  many  respects  concerning  the  institutions  of  Chandragupta 
than  he  is  about  those  of  any  Indian  sovereign  until  the  days 
of  Akbar,  the  contemporary  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

Pataliputra,  the  imperial  capital,  which  had  been  founded  patali- 
in  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  stood  in  the  tongue  of  land  formed  P"tra,  the 
by  the  confluence  of  the  Son  with  the  Ganges,  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  former,  and  a  few  miles  distant  from 
the  latter.  The  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  large  native 
city  of  Patna  and  the  English  civil  station  of  Bankipore,  but 
the  rivers  changed  their  courses  many  centuries  ago,  and  the 
confluence  is  at  present  near  the  cantonment  of  Dinapore, 
about  12  miles  above  Patna.  The  ancient  city,  which  lies 
buried  below  its  modern  successor,  was,  like  it,  a  long, 
narrow  parallelogram,  measuring  about  9  miles  in  length 
and  1^  miles  in  breadth.  It  was  defended  by  a  massive 
timber  palisade,  pierced  by  sixty-four  gates,  crowned  by 
five  hundred  and  seventy  towers,  and  protected  externally  by 
a  broad  and  deep  moat,  filled  from  the  waters  of  the  Son.^ 

^  The  fragments  of  Megasthenes  authors  see  Schwanbeck,  op.  cit., 

have  been  collected  and  edited  by  Index  I.    McCrindle's  books,  six  in 

Schwanbeck    under    the    title    of  number,   give   an    early   complete 

Megasthenis  Indika  (Bonn,    1846);  collection  of  the  passages  in  Greek 

and    translated   by    McCrindle   in  and    Roman    authors  treating    of 

Ancient  India  as  Described  by  Mega-  ancient  India. 

sthenes  and  Arrian  (Triibner,  Lon-  ^  See  Lt.-Col.  Waddell's  treatise, 
don,  1S77).  Arrian  {Indika,  17)  Discovery  of  the  Exact  Site  of 
rightly  brackets  Nearchos  and  Asoka's  Classic  Capital  of  Pdtali- 
Megasthenes  as  trustworthy  per-  putra  (Calcutta,  1892,  and  revised 
sons  {SoKt^iw  avSpf).  Strabo,  who  edition,  1903),  Some  fragments  of 
was  disgusted  by  some  of  the  the  timber  palisade  have  been 
travellers'  tales  repeated  by  Mega-  found.  The  remains  of  one  of  the 
sthenes,  unjustly  stigmatizes  him  Maurya  palaces  are  buried  under 
as  a  liar.  The  information  collected  the  houses  and  fields  of  the  village 
by  Megasthenes  was  supplemented  of  Kumrahar,  on  the  south  side  of 
by  the  works  of  other  writers,  of  the  railway  between  Bankipore  and 
whose  books  fragments  have  been  Patna.  Another  palace,  that  de- 
preserved  by  the  authors  to  whom  scribed  by  Hiuen  Tsang,  was  in 
we  are  indebted  for  our  knowledge  the  city,  probably  in  the  neigh- 
of  Megasthenes.    For  a  list  of  these  bourhood  of  the   Sadar  Gali  and 


122        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

Palace.  The  royal  palace,  although  chiefly  constructed  of  timber, 

was  considered  to  excel  in  splendour  and  magnificence  the 
palaces  of  Susa  and  Ekbatana,  its  gilded  pillars  being 
adorned  with  golden  vines  and  silver  birds.  The  buildings 
stood  in  an  extensive  park,  studded  with  fish-ponds  and 
furnished  with  a  great  variety  of  ornamental  trees  and 
shrubs. 

Court.  Here  the  imperial  court  was   maintained   with    barbaric 

and    luxurious   ostentation.     Basins    and    goblets    of    gold, 

some  measuring  six  feet  in  width,  richly  carved  tables  and 

chairs  of  state,  vessels  of  Indian  copper  set  with   precious 

stones,  and  gorgeous  embroidered  robes  were  to  be  seen  in 

profusion,  and  contributed  to  the  brilliancy  of  the  public 

ceremonies.     Wiien  the  king  condescended  to  show  himself 

in    public    on    state  occasions   he  was   carried  in   a  golden 

palanquin,  adorned  with  tassels  of  pearls,  and  was  clothed 

in  fine  muslin  embroidered  with   purple  and  gold.     When 

making  short  journeys   he    rode    on    horseback,   but   when 

travelling  longer  distances  he  was  mounted,  like  a  modern 

Raja,  on  an  elephant  with  golden  trappings.'     Combats  of 

animals  ^vere  a  favourite  diversion,  as  they  still  are  at  the 

courts    of    native    princes,    and    the    king    took    delight    in 

witnessing  the  fights  of  bulls,  rams,  elephants,  rhinoceroses, 

and  other  animals.      Gladiatorial  contests  between  men  were 

also  exhibited.    A  curious  entertaimnent,  which  seems  not  to 

be  known  in  tlie  present  age,  was  afforded  by  ox-races,  which 

were  made  the  subject  of  keen  betting,  and  were  watched  by 

the  king  with  the  closest  interest.     The  course  was  one  of 

30  stadia,  or  6,000  yards,  and  the  race  was  run  with  cars, 

each  of  wliich  was  drawn  by  a  mixed  team  of  horses  and 

oxen,  the  horses  being  in  the  centre  with  an  ox  on  each  side. 

Trotting  oxen  are  still  largely  used  for   drawing  travelling 

Kallu    Khan's     Bagh,     where    an  Patna  is  in  N.  lat.  25°  37',  E.  long. 

Asoka  pillar  is  hidden  in  a  zenana  85°   10'.     Chanakya  {ArthnMntra, 

(P.  C.   Miikharjl,  nnpubl.  report).  13k.   ii,   ch.   3,"  in   Mysore  Review, 

The   ruins   at  Kunirahar  seem   to  Feb.,    1907,   p.    73,   and   separate 

represent  the  town  of  Ni-li,  which  pamphlet,  p.  58    lays  down  elabo- 

Asoka  built,  as  stated  by  Fahicn.  rate  rules  for   the   fortification   of 

Cunninfrhain  was  mistaken  in   be-  the  capital. 

licvinf,'  that  IVitaliputra  had  been  i  Curtius,  viii,  9 ;  Strabo,  xv,  69. 
mostly   cut   away    by    the    rivers. 


HABITS  OF  THE  KING  123 

cjirriafifcs  in  many  parts  of  India,  but  the  breed  of  racers 
seems  to  be  extinct.* 

The  principal  royal  amusement  was  the  chase,  which  was  Chase, 
conducted  with  great  ceremony,  the  game  in  an  enclosed 
preserve  being  driven  up  to  a  platform  occupied  by  the  king, 
who  shot  the  animals  with  arrows ;  but,  if  the  hunt  took 
place  in  the  open  country,  he  used  to  ride  an  elephant. 
When  hunting  he  was  closely  attended  by  armed  female 
guards,  who  were  obtained  by  purchase  from  foreign 
countries,  and  formed  an  indispensable  element  in  the 
courts  of  the  ancient  Indian  monarchs.  The  road  for  tlie 
sovereign's  procession  was  marked  off  with  ropes,  which  it 
was  death  to  pass.^  The  institution  of  the  Royal  Hunt  was 
abolished  by  Chandragupta's  grandson,  Asoka,  in  259  n.c. 

As  a  rule,  the  king  remained  within  the  precincts  of  the  Habits  of 
iimer  palace,  under  the  protection  of  his  Amazonian  body- 
guard, and  appeared  in  public  only  to  hear  causes,  offer 
sacrifice,  and  to  go  on  military  or  hunting  expeditions. 
Probably  he  was  expected  to  show  himself  to  his  subjects 
at  least  once  a  day,  and  then  to  receive  petitions  and  decide 
disputes  in  person.  Like  the  modern  Indians,  Chandragupta 
took  pleasure  in  massage  or  friction  of  the  limbs,  and  custom 

1  Aelian,  Uepl  ((vwv  iSiott^tos,  Bk.  This  rendering,  perhaps,  would  re- 
xiii,  ch.  18  ;  Bk.  xv,  ch.  15.  Com-  quire  the  text  to  read  raiv  ywaiKuiv. 
pare  the  Burmese  incident :  'Walk-  The  word  tSiv  may  have  dropped 
ing  out  one  day,  I  met  a  waggon  out.  The  female  guards  are  men- 
drawn  by  four  stout  oxen  going  at  tioned  in  the  Sanskrit  plays.  In 
a  hand-gallop,  and  driven  by  a  the  Mndrd  lidkshasa.  Act  iii,  Chan- 
country  girl  standing  up  in  her  dragupta  is  represented  as  attended 
vehicle,  who  seemed  to  manage  the  by  a  girl  named  Sonottara.  The 
reins  and  a  long  whip  with  equal  girls  were  bought  from  their  pa.- 
dexterity'  {SymeR,  Emhassy  to  Ai^a,  rents  (Strabo,  xv,  55);  and  good- 
vol.  I,  p.  294,  Constable).  That  looking  maidens  for  the  royal 
girl  could  have  taken  part  in  a  harem  (napOivot  (vdSfts  vpos  naK- 
race.  Modern  Burma  presents  \aiciav)  were  still  regularly  imported 
many  illustrations  of  ancient  India.  in  the  first  century  a.  d.  at  Bary- 

^  Megasthenes,     Fragm.     xxvii.  gaza    (Broach),    on    the    western 

The  Greek  is  to)  Se  wapfXOiJvTi  kvros  coast  (Periplns,  ch.   49 ;    see  also 

fifXP^      tvvaiicSjv      Odvaro?,       which  chs.    8,  9,  31,  3(5;    transl,   Schoff; 

McCrindle  renders  'it  is  death  for  Longmans,  1912).     Chanakya  pre- 

man  and  woman  alike  to  pass  the  scribes  that  '  On  getting  up  from 

ropes ',  but  the  Greek  idiom  will  not  bed,  the  king  should  be  received 

bear  this  translation.     Miiller  cor-  by  troops  of  women  armed  with 

rectly  renders  'quodsi  quis  interius  bows'  {Artliamstra,  Bk.  i,  ch.  21 ; 

ad    mulieres    [scU.    to    the   female  imns.  in  Mysore  Review,  ¥ch.,  1^01, 

guards]  usque  accedit,  interficitur.'  p.  57,  and  reprint,  p.  49). 


124        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

required  that  he  should  indulge  in  this  luxury  while  giving 
puhlic  audience ;  four  attendants  used  to  massage  him  with 
ehony  rollers  during  the  time  that  he  was  engaged  in 
disposing  of  cases. ^  In  accordance  with  Persian  custom, 
which  had  much  influence  upon  the  Indian  court  and  ad- 
ministration, the  king  ceremonially  washed  his  hair  on  his 
hirthday,  which  was  celebrated  by  a  splendid  festival,  at 
which  tlie  nobles  were  expected  to  make  rich  presents  to 
their  sovereign.'^ 
Plots.  In  the  midst  of  all  the  gold  and  glitter,  and  in  spite  of 

the  most  elaborate  j^recautions,  uneasy  lay  the  head  that 
wore  the  crown.  The  king's  life  was  so  constantly  threatened 
by  plots  that  he  dared  not  incur  the  risk  either  of  sleeping 
in  the  day-time  or  occupying  the  same  bedroom  two  nights 
in  succession.^  The  dramatist  brings  vividly  before  us  the 
astuteness  of  the  Brahman  counsellor  who  detected  the  plots 
of  both  the  poisoners  and 

'The  brave  men  who  were  concealed 
In  the  subterrene  avenue  that  led 
To  Chandragupta's  sleeping  chamber — thence 
To  steal  by  night,  and  kill  him  as  he  slept '.^ 

Military         1'lic  army,  to  which  Chandragupta  owed  his  throne  and 

strength,    empire,  was  maintained  at  enormous  numerical  strength,  and 

so  organized,  equipped,  and  administered  as  to  attain  a  high 

degree  of  efliciencj^,  as  measured  by  an  Oriental  standard. 

It  was  not  a  militia,  but  a  standing  army,  drawing  liberal 

^  Such  an  attendant  (samvdhaka)  able  in  ancient  India.    The  Indians, 

is  a  minor  character  in   the   To;/-  we  are  told,  '  frequently  comb,  but 

crirt,   or   Little   Cl(i>/-rart,   drama  ;  seldom  cut,  the  hair  of  their  head, 

transl.     by    Ryder,     in     Harvard  The  beard  of  the  chin  they  never 

Oriinfal  Series,  vol.  iv  (lf)0,j\  cut  at  all,  but  they  shave  off  the 

^  Strabo,  xv,  60 ;  Herodotus,  ix,  hair  from  the  rest  of  the  face,  so 

110.      The    fact  is   mentioned   by  that    it   looks    polished'    (Curtius, 

Herodotus  in  connexion  with  the  viii,  9  . 

horrible    story     of    the     wife     of  '  Strabo,  xv,  .5.5.     So,  in  Burma, 

Masistes.     As    the    Persian    hair-  king   Badonsachen   or    Bodoahpra 

washing  festival  was  celebrated  on  (a.  n.   178-2  1819  ,  after  his  escape 

the    king's    birthday,    the    Indian  from  a  conspiracy,  began  the  prac- 

imitation    presumably    was    cele-  tice  of  changing  daily  his  chamber 

brated     on     the     same     occasion  and    bed     iSangermano,    Burmese 

('Persian     Influence    on     Maurya  /!,'«?;>/»•(?,  ed.  Jardine,  p.  6.5"). 

India,'    Ind.   Ant.,    190.5,   p.    201  .  *  Mxnlra  Rakshmt,  Act  ii  (Wil- 

The  shaven  heads,  now  favoured  son,  Tlieatre,  ii,  18i). 
by  most  Hindus,  were  not  fashion- 


THE  ARMY  125 

and  regular  pay,  and  supplied  by  the  government  with  horses, 
arms,  equipment,  and  stores.^  Tiie  foree  at  the  connnand  of 
Mahapadma  Nanda  is  said  to  have  numbered  80,000  horse, 
200,000  foot,  8,000  ehariots,  and  6,000  fighting  elephants. 
This  huge  foree  was  greatly  augmented  by  Chandragupta, 
who  raised  the  numbers  of  the  infantry  to  600,000,  and  also 
had  30,000  horse,  and  9,000  elephants,  besides  chariots,  all 
permanently  enrolled  in  a  regularly  paid  establishment.'-  The 
elephants  were  esteemed  the  most  valuable  section  of  the 
imperial  host,  because,  as  Chanakya  observes,  '  it  is  on 
elephants  that  the  destruction  of  an  enemy's  army  depends  '.^ 

Each  horseman  carried  two  lances,  resembling  the  kind  Arms, 
called  saunia  by  the  Greeks,  and  a  buckler.  All  the  infantry 
carried  the  broadsword  as  their  principal  weapon,  and  as 
additional  arms,  either  javelins,  or  bow  and  arrows.  The 
arrow  was  discharged  with  the  aid  of  pressure  from  the  left 
foot  on  the  extremity  of  the  bow  resting  upon  the  ground, 
and  with  such  force  that  neither  shield  nor  breastplate  could 
withstand  it.^ 

Each  chariot,  which  miglit  be  drawn  by  either  four  or  two  Chariots 

horses,  accommodated  two  fighting-men  besides  the  driver ;  elephants. 

and   an    elephant,    in   addition    to   the    mahout,   or  driver, 

carried    three    archers.^     The    9,000    elephants    therefore 

implied  a  force  of   36,000   men,  and   the   8,000   chariots, 

supposing  them  to  be  no  more  numerous  than  those  kept 

by  Mahapadma  Nanda,  required  24,000  men  to  work  them. 

The  total  immber  of  soldiers  in  the  army  would  thus  have 

been  600,000  infantry,  30,000  horsemen,  36,000  men  witii 

the  elephants,  and  24,000  with  the  chariots,  or  690,000  in 

all,  excluding  followers  and  attendants. 

These  high  figures,  which  may  seem  incredible  at  first  sight,  Size  of 

•^  Indian 

armies. 

^  Diodorus,  ii,  41.  and  carried  six  men,  of  whom  two 

^  Pliny,  vi,  19;   Plutarch,  Alex.  were   shield-bearers,   two,   archers 

ch.  62.  posted  on  each  side  of  the  chariot, 

*  ArthaMstra,  Bk.  vii,  chap.  11  and    the    other    two,    charioteers, 
{Ind.  Aid.,  1910,  p.  68).  as  well  as  men-at-arms,  for  when 

*  Arrian,  Indlka,  ch.  16.  the  fighting  was  at  close  quarters 
^  Strabo,  xv,  52 ;  Aelian,  xiii,  10.       they  dropped  the  reins  and  hurled 

The  chariots  of  Poros  in  the  Panjab  dart  after  dart  against  the  enemy ' 
were  each  '  drawn  by  four  horses,       (.Curtius,  viii,  H ;  ante,  p.  26). 


120        CHANDRAGUPTA  AND   BINDUSARA 

are  justified  by  our  knowledge  of  the  unwieldy  hosts  used  in 
war  by  Indian  kiniifs  in  later  ages.  For  instance,  Nunez, 
the  Portuguese  chronicler,  who  was  contemporary  with 
Krishna  De\'a,  the  Raya  of  Vijayanagar,  in  the  sixteenth 
century  (1509-30),  affirms  that  that  prince  led  against 
Raichur  an  army  consisting  of  703,000  foot,  32,600  horse, 
and  551  elephants,  besides  camp  followers.^ 
War  The  formidable  force  at  the  disposal  of  Chandragupta,  by 

•  far  tlie  largest  in  India,-  was  controlled  and  administered 
under  the  direction  of  a  War  Office  organized  on  an  elaborate 
system.  A  commission  of  thirty  members  was  divided  into 
six  Boards,  each  with  five  members,  to  which  departments 
were  severally  assigned  as  follows :  Board  No.  I,  in 
co-operation  with  the  admiral — Admiralty ;  Board  No.  II — 
Transport,  Commissariat,  and  Army  ser\ice,  including  the 
provision  of  drummers,  grooms,  mechanics,  and  grass-cutters ; 
Board  No.  Ill— Infantry  ;  Board  No.  IV— Cavalry ;  Board 
No.  Y— War-chariots  ;  Board  No.  A'l— Elephants. 
Efficient  All  Indian  armies  had  been  regarded  from  time  im- 
organiza-  memorial  as  normally  comprising  the  four  arms,  cavalry, 
infantry,  elephants,  and  chariots ;  and  each  of  these  arms 
would  natiu'ally  fall  under  the  control  of  a  distinct  authority ; 
but  the  addition  of  co-ordinate  supply  and  admiralty  depart- 
ments appears  to  be  an  innovation  due  to  the  genius  of 
Chandragupta.  His  organization  must  have  been  as  efficient 
ill  practice  as  it  was  systematic  on  paper,  for  it  enabled  him 
not  only,  in  tiie  words  of  Plutarch,  to  '  overrun  and  subdue 
all  India',  but  also  to  expel  the  Macedonian  garrisons,  and 
to  repel  the  invasion  of  Seleukos. 
Civil  The  details  recorded  concerning  the  civil   administration 

tratioii.  "^  Chandragupta's  empire,  if  not  so  copious  as  we  might 
desire,  are  yet  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  realize  the  system 
of  government;   which,  although,  of  course,  based  upon  the 

'  Seweil,    A  ForyotUn  Empire,,  1,()()()  elephants.     'Sod  omnium  in 

p.  147.     Many  other  proofs  of  the  India    prope,    non    niodo    in    hoc 

unwieldy    size    of    Indian    armies  tractu,     potentiam     claritatemque 

niif^ht  be  cited.     _  antecedunt  Prasii,  anipiissiuia  urbe 

^  The  powerful  Andhra  kingdom  ditissiniaque  Palibothra'L«c<V.  Pata- 

(ruliiliur     (/ensj      possessed      only  liputra]  J  liny,  vi,  1!);. 
100,000  infantry,  2,000  cavalry,  and 


ADMINISTRATION  127 

persoiml  autocracy  of  tlio  sovereign,  was  sometliiiig   better 

than  a  merely  arbitrary  tyranny. 

The  administration  of  the  capital  city,  Pataliputra,  was  Municipal 

provided  for  by  the  formation  of  a  Municipal  Commission,  gjo"""^' 

consisting  of  thirty  members,  divided,  like  the  War  Office 

Commission  of  equal  numbers,  into  six  Boards  or  Committees 

of  five  members  each.     These  Boards  may  be  regarded  as  an 

official  development  of  the  ordinary  non-official  punchdyaty 

or  committee  of  five  members,  by  which  every  caste  and 

trade  in  India  has  been  accustomed  to  regulate  its  internal 

affairs  from  time  immemorial. 

The  first  Municipal  Board,  which  was  entrusted  with  the  Industrial 

.  .  •  arts 

superintendence  of  everything  relating  to  the  industrial  arts, 

was  doubtless  responsible  for  fixing  the  rates  of  wages,  and 

must  have  been  prepared  to  enforce  the   use  of   pure  and 

sound  materials,  as  well  as  the  performance  of  a  fair  day's 

work    for    fair   wages,    as    determined    by    the    authorities. 

Artisans  were  regarded  as  being  in  a  special  manner  devoted 

to  the  royal  service,  and  capital  punishment  was  inflicted  on 

any  person  who  impaired  the  efficiency  of  a  craftsman   by 

causing  the  loss  of  a  hand  or  an  eye. 

The  second  Board  devoted  its  energies  to  the  case  of  foreign  Foreign- 

*~  .        •  6rs> 

residents  and  visitors,  and  performed  duties  which  in  modern 

Europe  are  entrusted  to  the  consuls  representing  foreign 
powers.  All  foreigners  were  closely  watched  by  officials,  who 
provided  suitable  lodgings,  escorts,  and,  in  case  of  need, 
medical  attendance.  Deceased  strangers  were  decently 
buried,  and  their  estates  were  administered  by  the  com- 
missioners, who  forwarded  the  assets  to  the  persons  entitled.^ 
The  existence  of  these  elaborate  regulations  is  conclusive 
proof  that  the  Maurya  empire  in  the  third  century  B.C.  was 
in  constant  intercourse  with  foreign  states,  and  that  large 
numbers  of  strangers  visited  the  capital  on  business. 

*  These    officials     corresponded  influence.     For  a  good  account  of 

exactly  with    the   Greek    -npo^fvoi,  rrpo^evia,  see   Newton's  Esmi/s  on 

and   it   is  possible  that  Chandra-  Art  and  Archaeo(o(/i/,   pp.    121-3 

gupta    borrowed    this    institution  ('  Consular  Officers    in   India  and 

from   Greece.     But   his   other   ar-  Greece',  Ind.  Ant.,  1905,  p.  •200), 
rangements  show  no  trace  of  Greek 


128        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 


Vital 
statistics. 


Trade. 


Manufac- 
tures. 


Tithe  on 
sales. 


Tlie  third  Board  was  responsible  for  the  systematic  regis- 
tration of  births  and  deaths,  and  we  are  expressly  informed 
that  the  system  of  registration  was  enforced  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  government,  as  well  as  for  facility  in  levying  the 
taxes.  The  taxation  referred  to  probably  was  a  poll-tax, 
at  the  rate  of  so  much  a  head  annually.  Nothing  in  the 
legislation  of  Chandragupta  is  more  astonishing  to  the 
observer  familiar  with  the  lax  methods  of  ordinary  Oriental 
govermnents  than  this  registration  of  births  and  deaths. 
The  spontaneous  adoption  of  such  a  measure  by  an  Indian 
native  state  in  modern  times  is  unheard  of,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  imagine  an  old-fashioned  Raja  feeling  anxious 
'  that  births  and  deaths  among  both  high  and  low  might  not 
be  concealed  \  Even  the  Anglo-Indian  administration,  with 
its  complex  organization  and  European  notions  of  the  value 
of  statistical  information,  did  not  attempt  the  collection 
of  vital  statistics  imtil  very  recent  times,  and  always  has 
experienced  great  difficulty  in  securing  reasonable  accuracy 
in  the  figures. 

The  important  domain  of  trade  and  commerce  was  the 
province  of  the  fourth  Board,  which  regulated  sales,  and 
enforced  the  use  of  duly  stamped  weights  and  measures. 
Merchants  paid  a  licence  tax,  and  the  trader  who  dealt  in 
more  than  one  class  of  commodity  paid  double. 

The  fifth  Board  was  responsible  for  the  supervision  of 
manufacturers  on  similar  lines.  A  curious  regulation  pre- 
scribed the  separation  of  new  from  old  goods,  and  imposed 
a  fine  for  violation  of  the  rule.  The  reason  for  this  pre- 
scription was  that  traffic  in  old  goods,  whether  by  sale  or 
mortgage,  was  prohibited,  unless  official  sanction  had  been 
obtained,  which  could  be  granted  only  on  certain  conditions.^ 

The  collection  of  a  tithe  of  the  value  of  the  goods  sold 
was  the  business  of  the  sixth  and  last  Board,  and  evasion 
of  this  tax  was  punishable  with  death.  Similar  taxation  on 
sales  always  has  been  connnon  in  India,  but  rarely,  if  ever, 
has  its  collection  been  enforced  by  a  penalty  so  formidable 
as  that  exacted  by  Chandragupta. 

'  Arthd^dbtfii,  lik.  iv,  chaps.  2  and  7. 


VICEROYS  129 

(3ur  detailed    iiiforniatioii   relates   onlv   to   the   miuiicipal  General 
...  .  (.    n       1-  I  •  'i    1         •      •  municipal 

aunimistratioM  or    rataliputra,  the  eapital,  but  it  is  reason-  adminis- 

able  to  infer  that  Taxila,  Ujjain,  and  the  other  great  cities  Oration. 

of  the   empire   were   jroverned    on   the   same  principles  and 

hy  similar  methods.     The  '  Provincials'  Edict'  of  Asoka  is 

addressed  to  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  city  of  Tosali  in 

Kalinga.^ 

In  addition  to  the  special  departmental  duties  above 
detailed,  the  Municipal  Commissioners  in  their  collective 
capacity  were  required  to  control  all  the  affairs  of  the  city, 
and  to  keep  in  order  the  markets,  temples,  harbours,  and, 
generally  speaking,  all  public  works. - 

The  administration  of  the  distant  provinces  w  as  entrusted  Viceroys, 
to  viceroys,  probably,  as  a  rule,  members  of  the  royal  family. 
The  information  concerning  the  \iceroyalties  being  more 
complete  for  Asoka's  reign  than  for  that  of  Chandragupta, 
the  subject  will  be  referred  to  again  when  Asoka's  system  of 
administration  is  discussed. 

In     accordance    with     the     usual    practice    of     Oriental  News- 

writers 

monarchies,  the  court  kept  watch  over  the  more  remote 
functionaries  by  means  of  special  agents,  or  ^  news-writers ', 
the  akhbdr  navis  of  modern  times,  who  are  called  'overseers' 

^  V.  A.  Smith,  Asoka,  the  Bud-  and  in  this  manner  foreigners  ob- 

dhist  Emperor  of  India,  2nd  ed.,  tain   them   at   first    hand.      These 

p.   179.  workers,  before  exposing  anything 

^  Fragment  xxxiv  in  Schwanbeck,  for  sale,  have  to  go  to  him  who 
from  Strabo,  xv,  1,  51  ;  translated  holds  the  contract  [scil.  for  collect- 
by  McCrindle  in  Ancient  India  as  ing  the  tax  on  sales],  in  order  to  get 
described  by  Meg asthenes  and  Arrian,  the  king's  stamp  impressed  on  the 
p.  87,  and  again  (revised)  in  Ancient  pieces  ofcalico  or  silk,  otherwise  they 
India  as  described  in  Classical  Litera-  are  fined  and  flogged'  (V.  Ball,  transl. 
ture,  p.  54.  The  words  utto  avaarjfxov,  Tavernier,  Travels  in  India,  I,  118). 
twice  mistranslated  by  McCrin-  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
die  as  '  by  public  notice ',  really  cotton  fabrics  of  Benares  were  fa- 
mean  '  with  official  stamp ',  the  mous  in  Maurya  times.  The  best 
abhijndna-mudrd  of  the  Arthasus-  kindscame  from  Madura  in  the  south, 
^ra,  Bk.  ii,  chap.  21.  Similar  regu-  the  Konkan,  Kalinga,  Benares, 
lations  continued  in  use  until  com-  Eastern  Bengal  i  Vanga,  Vatsa  or 
paratively  recent  times.  The  French  Kausambi,  and  Mahishmati  (Man- 
traveller  Tavernier  (1st  ed.,  1675)  dhataontheNarbadai  (^r</jaA'(7s<ra, 
tells  us  that  at  Benares  there  were  Bk.  ii,  chap.  12).  The  harbours 
'  two  galleries  where  they  sell  cot-  were  those  on  the  Son  and  Ganges 
tons,  silken  stuflfs,  and  other  kinds  rivers.  The  remains  of  the  brick 
of  merchandise.  The  majority  of  embankments  along  the  old  course 
those  who  vend  the  goods  are  the  of  the  Son  can  still  be  traced, 
workers  who  have  made  the  pieces, 


130        CIIANDRAGUPTA  AND   BINDUSARA 

and  '  inspectors '  {i<})opoi,  eTnVKo-rrot)  by  the  Greek  authors, 
and  are  mentioned  in  the  Asoka  Edicts  as  the  king's  '  men ', 
(pulisd/ii,  Pillar  Edict  VI),  or  '  reporters '  (pativedakd,  Rock 
Edict  VI).  The  duty  of  these  officers  Avas  to  superintend  or 
oversee  all  that  occurred  in  town  or  country  and  to  make 
private  reports  to  the  government.  Arrian  notes  that 
similar  officers  were  employed  by  the  authorities  of  the 
independent  nations  as  well  as  by  the  monarchical  govern- 
ments of  India.  They  did  not  disdain  to  utilize  as  coadjutors 
the  courtesans  of  the  camp  and  city,  and  must  have  trans- 
mitted at  times  to  their  masters  strange  packets  of  scandalous 
gossip.^  Arrian^s  informants  assured  him  that  the  reports 
sent  in  were  always  true,  and  that  no  Indian  could  be  accused 
of  lying;  but  it  is  permissible  to  doubt  the  strict  accuracy 
of  this  statement,  although  it  is  certainly  the  fact  that  the 
people  of  ancient  India  enjoyed  a  widespread  and  enviable 
reputation  for  straightforwardness  and  honesty.^ 
Penal  The    general    honesty    of    the    people    and    the    efficient 

administration  of  the  criminal  law  are  both  attested  by  the 
observation  recorded  by  Megasthenes,  that  while  he  resided 
in  Chandragupta's  camp,  containing  400,000  persons,  the 
total  of  the  thefts  reported  in  any  one  day  did  not  exceed 
two  hundred  drachmai,  or  about  eight  pounds  sterling. 
Wiien  crime  did  occur  it  was  repressed  with  terrible  severity. 
Ordinary  wounding  by  mutilation  was  punished  by  the 
corresponding  mutilation  of  the  offender,  in  addition  to  the 
amputation  of  his  hand.  If  tlie  injured  person  happened  to 
be  an  artisan  de\'()ted  to  tiie  royal  service,  the  penalty  was 
death.  The  crime  of  giving  false  evidence  was  visited  with 
mutilation  of  the  extremities ;  and,  in  certain  unspecified 
cases,  offences  weve  punished  by  the  shaving  of  the  offender's 
hair,  a  penalty  regarded  as  specially  infamous."     Injury  to 

*  The  statement   that  the  cour-  cutting   off  the   nose,   or   perhaps 

tesans  were  utilized  as  informers  is  only  tlie  hair.     Sometimes  one-half 

in  Strabo,  xv,  i8.  of  the  scalp  is  shaved,  and  a  tablet 

^  The  evidence  is  summarized  by  affixed  to  the   neck,   so  inflicting 

Max   Miiller  in  India,  what  can  it  disgrace  on  the  offender'     Kings- 

Teachus-'  iHvo  ed.,  188S,  p.  51  .  mill,  in  Atheridum,  July  1!),  19()'2, 

"  This  was  a  Persian  jninisiiment.  quoting    a    Chinese    work    of    the 

'Lighter  crimes  are  punished   by  sixth    century,    entitled     Wei-Shu, 


code 


LAND  REVENUE  131 

a  sacred  tree,^  evasion  of  tlie  municipal  tithe  on  goods  sold, 
and  intrusion  on  the  royal  procession  going  to  the  hunt 
were  all  alike  capitally  punishable.  These  recorded  instances 
of  severity  are  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  code  of  criminal 
law,  as  a  whole,  must  have  been  characterized  by  uncom- 
promising sternness  and  slight  regard  for  human  life. 

The  native  law  of  India  has  always  recognized  agricultural  Land 
land  as  being  Crown  property,  and  has  admitted  the  un- 
doubted right  of  the  ruling  power  to  levy  a  Crown  rent,  or 
*  land  revenue ',  amovmting  to  a  considerable  portion,  either 
of  the  gross  produce  or  of  its  cash  value. ^  Even  the  English 
laws,  which,  contrary  to  general  ancient  custom,  recognize 
private  property  in  cultivable  land,  insist  that  the  land 
revenue  is  the  first  charge  on  the  soil,  and  permit  the  en- 
forcement of  the  charge  by  sale  of  the  land  free  of  all 
incumbrances,  in  the  event  of  default.  The  land  revenue  is 
still  the  mainstay  of  Indian  finance.  So  it  must  have  been 
in  the  days  of  Chandragupta.  The  details  of  his  system  of 
'settlement',  or  valuation  and  assessment  of  the  land,  have 
not  been  preserved,  and  it  is  not  known  whether  a  fresh 
valuation  was  made  annually,  or  at  longer  intervals.  The 
normal  share  of  the  gross  produce  taken  by  the  Crown  is 
said  to  have  been  one-fourth ;  but  in  practice,  no  doubt,  the 
proportion  taken  varied  largely,  as  it  does  to  this  day,  and  all 
provinces  could  not  be  treated  alike.  Certain  other  unspeci- 
fied dues  were  also  levied.  The  army  being  a  professional 
force,  recruited  from  the  fighting  castes,  the  agricultural 
population  w\'is  exempt  from   military  service;    and   Mega- 

with    reference    to   the    Sassanian  extreme  torture,  a  terrible  punish- 

period).     The    offences   for  which  ment  for  a  trivial  theft.    The  value 

shaving  of  the  head  was  one  of  the  of  the   silver  pana  (146  grains  of 

optional  penalties  are  specified  in  impure   silver)    may   be   taken    as 

the  Arthakistra,  Bk.  iv,  ch.  9.    For  about  a  shilling, 

petty  thefts  of  articles  worth  4  to  |  '  Curtius,  viii,  9. 

a  silver  pana  (say  3rf.  to  Gd.)  the  ^  'Those  who  are  well  versed  in 

penalties  prescribed  were  (1)  a  fine  the  ^astras  admit  that  the  king  is 

of    6   panas,   or    (2)    shaving    the  the  owner  of  both  land  and  water, 

head,   or   (3)   exile.     If  the   value  and   that  the   people  can  exercise 

was  between  1  pana  and  2  panas,  their  right  of  ownership  over  all 

the  penalties  were  [l]  a.  fine  of  -24  other  things  excepting  these  two' 

panas,  (2)  shaving  the  head  with  a  (Comment  on  Arthamstra,  Bk.  ii, 

pieceofbrick,or(3)exile.  Theopera-  chap.  24;. 
tion  with  the  brick  must  have  been 

K  2 


132        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

sthenes  noted  with  surprise  and  admiration  that  the  husband- 
men could  pursue  their  caUing  in  peace,  while  the  professional 
soldiers  of  hostile  kings  engaged  in  battle.^ 
Irrigation.  The  proper  regulation  of  irrigation  is  a  matter  of  prime 
importance  in  India ;  and  it  is  much  to  the  credit  of 
Chandragupta  that  he  maintained  a  special  Irrigation 
Department  charged  with  the  duty  of  measuring  the  lands, 
and  so  regulating  the  sluices  that  every  one  should  receive 
his  fair  share  of  the  life-giving  water.  The  allusion  to  the 
measurement  of  lands  as  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Irrigation 
Department  indicates  that  a  Avater-rate  must  have  been 
levied,  and  the  reference  to  sluices  implies  a  regular  system 
of  canals.2 
The  The    inscription   of    the    Satrap    Rudradaman,    engraved 

lake.  ^  ''^^^  after  the  year  a.d.  150  on  the  famous  rock  at  Girnar 
in  Kathiawar,  on  which  Asoka,  four  centuries  earlier,  had 
recorded  a  version  of  his  immortal  edicts,  bears  direct 
testimony  to  the  care  bestowed  by  the  central  government 
upon  the  question  of  irrigation,  even  in  the  most  remote 
provinces.  Although  Girnar  is  situated  close  to  the  Ara- 
bian Sea,  at  a  distance  of  at  least  1,000  miles  from  the 
Maurya  capital,  the  needs  of  the  local  farmers  did  not  escape 
the  imperial  notice.  Pushyagupta,  the  Vaisya,  who  was 
Chandragupta's  go\ernor  of  the  western  pi'ovinces,  saw  that 
by  dannning  up  a  small  stream  a  reservoir  of  great  value  for 
irrigation  could  be  provided.  He  accordingly  formed  a  lake 
called  Sudarsana,  '^the  Beautiful,'  between  the  citadel  on  the 
east  side  of  the  hill  and  the  '  inscription  rock '  farther  to 
the  east,  but  failed  to  complete  the  necessary  supplemental 
channels.  These  were  constructed  in  the  reign  of  Chandra- 
gupta's grandson  Asoka,  under  the  superintendence  of  his 
representative.  Raja  Tushaspha,  the  Persian,  who  was  then 
viceroy.  These  beneficent  works  constructed  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Maurya  emperors  endured  for  four  hundred 

^  Strabo,  xv,  40.    In  this  pas.sage       venue  was  one-fourth  of  the  gross 
the     erroneous    statement    occurs       produce. 

that  the   cultivator   received    one-  '^  We  know  from  the  ^r^/jaia*^ra 

fourth  of  the  produce.     Diodorus       that  heavy  water-rates  were  actually 
correctly  states  that   the  land  re-       levied,  and  that  canals  were  main- 
tained under  strict  regulations. 


IRRIGATION  133 

3'ears,  but  in  the  year  a.d.  150  a  storm  of  exceptional  violence 

destroyed  the  embankment,  and  MJth  it  the  lake. 

The  embankment  was  then  rebuilt  '  three  times  stronger  '  itebuild- 

than  before  by  order  of  the  Saka  Satrap  Rudradfiman,  who  '"S  of  the 

.  ....  nam. 

has  recorded  the  history  of  the  work  in  an  inscription  which 

is  the  only  known  epigraphic  record  containing  the  names 
of  Chandragupta  and  Asoka  Maurya.  Notwithstanding  the 
triple  strength  of  Rudradaman's  masonry,  it  too  failed  to 
withstand  the  fury  of  the  elements ;  the  dam  again  burst, 
and  was  repaired  once  more  in  a.d.  458  by  the  local  governor 
serving  under  Skandagupta.  At  some  time  luiknown  these 
ancient  works  fell  to  ruin,  and  the  lake  thus  finally  dis- 
appeared. Its  site,  buried  in  deep  jungle,  was  so  utterly 
forgotten  that  modern  local  inquirers  have  experienced 
difficulty  in  ascertaining  its  exact  position. 

The  fact  that  so  much  pains  and  expense  were  lavished  imperial 
upon  this  irrigation  work  in  a  remote  dependency  of  the  ?*^^  ^P*" 
empire  is  conclusive  evidence  that  the  provision  of  water 
for  the  fields  was  recognized  as  an  imperative  duty  by  the 
great  Maurya  emperors,  and  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
accuracy  of  Megasthenes'  remark  that  imperial  officers  were 
wont  to  'measure  the  land,  as  in  Egypt,  and  inspect  the 
sluices  by  which  water  is  distributed  into  the  branch  canals, 
so  that  every  one  may  enjoy  his  fair  share  of  the  benefit  ^.^ 

The    central    government,    by    means   of    local    officers,  strict 
exercised   strict   control   and   maintained   close   supervision  f'ontrol. 
over  all  classes  and  castes  of   the   population.     Even   the 
Brahman  astrologers  and  soothsayers,  and  sacrificial  priests, 

^  Fragment  xxxiv,  in  Strabo,  xv,  the  Sanskrit  language.    The  earliest 

1,  50.     The  antiquities   of  Girnar  short  inscription  in  pure  Sanskrit 

(Junagarh)  are  described  by  Bur-  known   at  present  is  that  on  the 

gess  in  Reports  Archaeol.  Survey  yfipa  or  sacrificial  post  at  Isapur 

W.  I.,  vol.  ii,  and  the  position  of  near  Mathura,  dated  in  the  year 

the  lake  is  defined  by  Mr.  Cousens  24  (?  a.  d.  113),  in  the  reign  of  Shahi 

in  the  Progress  Report  of  the  same  Vasishka   (/.   R.   A.    S.,   1919,  p. 

Survey  for   1898-9,  par.   49.     For  118\     The  term  rashtriya  applied 

Rudradaman's  inscription  see  the  to   Pushyagupta    in    this    passage 

latest  ed.  by  Prof.  Kielhorn  in  Ep.  should    be    rendered    'governor', 

/mi.,  viii,  36,  and  the  abstract  ver-  Tushaspha   is   called  a  'Yavana', 

sion  in  Liiders's  List,  No.  965  {Ep.  but  the  form  of  the  name  shows 

Ind.,  X,   App.   p.    99%     It  is  the  that  he  must  have  been  a  Persian 

earliest  considerable  inscription  in  {Ep.  Ind.,  viii,  46,  note\ 


134       CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 


M-honi  Megasthenes  erroneoush'  described  as  forming  a 
separate  class  of  '  philosophers  '  or  '  sophists  ',^  recei\'ed  their 
share  of  official  attention,  and  were  rewarded  or  punished 
according  as  their  predictions  and  observations  proved  correct 
or  mistaken.  Among  the  artisans,  ship-builders  and  armour- 
makers  were  salaried  public  servants,  and  were  not  permitted, 
it  is  said,  to  work  for  any  private  person.  The  wood-cutters, 
carpenters,  blacksmiths,  and  miners  were  subject  to  special 
supervision,  of  which  the  nature  is  not  defined. 

According  to  Strabo,  no  private  person  was  permitted  to 
keep  either  a  horse  or  an  elephant,  the  possession  of  either 
animal  being  a  royal  privilege.  But  this  assertion  is 
undoubtedly  inaccurate,  if  taken  as  applicable  to  all  parts  of 
the  country,  and  is  corrected  by  the  reasonable  and  detailed 
observations  of  Arrian  {Indika,  17).  That  author  tells  us 
that  the  mounts  used  commonly  were  horses,  camels,  and 
asses,  elephants  being  used  only  by  the  wealthy,  and  con- 
sidered specially  appropriate  for  the  service  of  royalty. 
Except  as  regards  asses,  which  are  now  looked  upon  with 
contempt,  and  restricted  to  the  humblest  services  as  beasts 
of  burden  for  potters  and  washermen,  the  statement  of  Arrian 
applies  accurately  to  modern  India.^  To  ride  an  elephant 
or  camel,  or  in  a  four-horsed  chariot  was,  he  says,  a  mark  of 


1  Megasthenes  has  a  peculiar 
enumeraticn  of  the  occupational 
classes  (7fi'ea('),  commonly  mistrans- 
lated 'castes  ',  whicli  he  reckoned  as 
seven:  1  the 'sophists' (<To</)«TTa/  ; 
(2) agriculturists  -^iuft^oi)-^  :3,  herds- 
men, shepherds, and  graziers  vo^Us, 
TTointvcs,  ^ovKuXoi) ;  {'ij  artisans  and 
traders  (jo  S-rj/xiovpyiKvu  t«  ical  Ka-nrjXi- 
Kov  7€Vos) ;  '5;  the  military  (tioA*- 
liiffTai) ;  (())  theoverseers  iiriaicvnoi  ; 
(7)  the  councillors  (oi  vnip  rwv  koivujv 
(iov\(v6fj.(voi  o/xov  Tw  liadtKfi,  ij  Kara. 
TToKia^  uaai  avrwonoi  avv  rriOiv  apxriai. 
Fragm.  xxxii  of  Schwanbeck,  from 

rrian,  Jndika,  11,  12  .  Strabo  calls 
No  .  I  ,Tuvs  ipiKocroifiovs ;  No.  IJ,7roi/xfVa)i' 
Kal  drjpiVTMV  ;  No.  4,  tovs  ipya^ofiti'ovs 
Tos  Tfxvas  icai  ruits  icanrjXiKovs  Kal  oh 
diTo  Tuv  awfiaroi  t)  (pyaata  ;  No.  (), 
(<popoi ;  and  No.  7,  (A  avp.Sov\oL  ical 
rrvvfdpoi  Toxi  (iaaiKfwi.  His  nomen- 
clature  for   Nos.    2   and   5  agrees 


with  Arrian's.  The  Brahman 
books,  as  is  well  known,  reckon 
four  classes  or  groups  (varua)  of 
castes  {j'fiti),  namely,  Brahmans, 
Kshatriyas  or  Rajanyas,  Vaisyas, 
and  Sudras.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
translate  variia  as  '  caste  '. 

^  Asses,  however,  were  largely 
used  in  ancient  India,  that  is  to  say, 
in  the  Panjab,  and  on  the  mountain 
frontiers,  as  they  were  in  Iran  or 
Persia.  They  are  mentioned  in  the 
Ri(f  \  "eda  ;  and  many  passages  in 
the  Mahdiihtlrafa  mention  asses, 
camels,  and  mules  in  association, 
as  used  by  the  Vahika  and  Mad- 
raka  tribes  in  the  Panjab,  of  which 
^akala  (Sifdkot)  was  then  the 
capital  (Sylvain  Levi,  Ind.  Ant., 
1906,  p.  17).  See  also  Arthaidstra, 
Bk.  ii,  ch.  29,  Bk.  vii,  ch.  12,  and 
Bk.  ix,  ch.  1.  Mules  were  also 
employed  for  military  piu-poses. 


STATE  OF  CIVILIZATION  135 

distinction,  but  anybody  mis^ht  ride  or  drive  a  single  borse.^ 
The  ekka,  or  light  carriage  drawn  by  a  single  pony,  still  so 
much  used  in  Northern  India,  is  a  very  ancient  conveyance. 

The  roads  were  maintained  in  order  by  the  officers  of  the  Roads, 
proper  department ;  and  j)illars,  serving  as  milestones  and 
sign-posts,  were  set  up  at  inter\als  of  10  stadia,  ecjuivalent 
to  a  half  kos  according  to  the  Indian  reckoning,  or  2,022f 
English  yards.  The  provision  of  these  useful  marks  was 
made  more  liberally  than  it  was  afterwards  by  the  Moghal 
emperors,  who  were  content  with  one  pillar  to  each  kos. 
A  royal,  or  grand  trunk,  road,  10,000  stadia  in  length,  con- 
nected the  north-western  frontier  with  the  capital.^ 

The  foreffoinsr  review  of  the  civil  and  military  system  of  High 

.  .  1     degree  of 

government  during  the  reign  of  Chandragupta  proves  clearly  civiliza- 

that  Northern  India  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  ^ion. 
had  attained  to  a  high  degree  of  civilization,  which  must 
have  been  the  product  of  evolution  continued  through  many 
centuries.  Unfortunately  no  monuments  have  been  dis- 
covered which  can  be  referred  with  certainty  to  the  period  of 
Chandragupta  or  bis  son,  and  the  archaeologist  is  unable  to 
bring  the  tangible  evidence  afforded  by  excavation  to  support 
the  statements  of  the  Greek  observers.  The  earliest  known 
examples  of  Indian  art  and  architecture,  with  very  slight 
exceptions,  still  date  from  the  reign  of  Asoka.     But  if  the 

1  Chanakya    prescribes     capital  equal  to  about  1  mile,  24.0  yards, 

punishment  for  the   slayer  of  an  But  it  is  difficult  to  accept  the  form 

elephant  (Bk.  ii,  ch.  2).    In  Burma  adhaas  equivalent  to  asAto,  'eight.' 

the  king  was  sole  proprietor  of  all  Three  stadia  were   in   use   in   the 

elephants,    and    possessed    6,000.  Roman  world  in  the  first  century 

The  privilege  of  riding  on  or  keep-  after    Christ,    namely,    the   Phile- 

ing  an   elephant    was    an    honour  terian  of  525  to  the  degree,  or  about 

granted  only  to  men  of  the  first  650  English  feet,  nearly  a  furlong  ; 

rank    and    consequence    (Symes,  the  Olympic  of  600  to  the  degree. 

Embassy  to  Ava,  ii,  8 :  Constable).  or   about   600   feet ;    and   that  of 

^  Strabo,  xv,    11.     The   Moghal  Eratosthenes,  of  700  to  the  degree, 

kos,   the   interval   between    pillars  about  520  feet, 
still  existing,  averages  4,558  yards  The    stadium    of   the    Periplus 

(Elliot,  Suppl.  Glossary,  s.  v.  Kos).  seems  to  be  that  of  Eratosthenes, 

Fleet   takes   adhakosikya  in   Pillar  roughly  speaking,  the  tenth  of  an 

Edict  VII  to  mean   '  at  distances  English  mile,  and  in  all  probability 

of   eight    kos '   instead    of    '  every  the   same   measure    was    used   by 

half  kos',   as   usually   interpreted  Megasthenes    (Schoff,     Tlie    Peri- 

(J.  R.  A.  S.,  1906,  p.  417,  1912,  p.  plus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,   1912, 

238) ;  and  maintains  that  in  ancient  p.  54). 
India  there  was  only  one  A-os  measure, 


136       CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

exploration  of  the  sites  of  Pfitaliputra,  Vaisali,  Taxila,  and 
other  cities  of  high  antiquity  should  ever  be  undertaken 
seriously  and  on  an  adequate  scale,  it  is  possible  that  remains 
of  the  early  Maurya  period,  as  mcU  as  those  of  previous 
ages,  may  reward  the  enterprise  of  the  explorer.  It  is  not 
likely  that  the  ruins  of  many  recognizable  buildings  will  be 
found,  because  the  larger  edifices  of  ancient  India,  like  those 
of  modern  Burma,  probably  were  constructed  of  timber  for 
the  most  part,  brick  being  used  merely  for  foundations  and 
plinths.  No  trace  of  stone  architecture  prior  to  the  age  of 
Asoka  has  been  detected.  Writing  certainly  was  in  common 
use  by  certain  classes  of  the  population  long  before  the  days 
of  Chandragupta;  when,  according  to  the  Greek  authors, 
the  bark  of  trees  and  cotton  cloth  served  as  writing  material,^ 
and  it  is  surprising  tliat  no  inscriptions  of  his  time  on  more 
permanent  material  have  yet  been  found.  But  some  records 
on  either  stone  or  metal  probably  exist,  and  may  be  expected 
to  come  to  light  whenever  the  really  ancient  sites  shall  be 
examined. 

The  description  of  the  court  and  civil  and  military 
administration  of  Chandragupta  Maurya^  derived  mainly  from 
Greek  authorities,  as  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  was 
practically  uncorroborated  when  the  first  edition  of  this  book 
was  published  in  1904.  But  since  that  time  an  Indian  scholar 
has  made  accessible  by  means  of  translation,  the  discourse  on 
the  Art  of  Government  traditionally  ascribed  to  Chanakya  or 

^  Nearchos  is  the  original  aiitho-  of    Megasthenes     Strabo,   xv,   53 1 

rity  for  the  use  of  closely  woven  that  the  Indians  were  '  ignorant  of 

[cotton]  cloth    Strabo,  xv,  ()7  .     A  writing '  is  erroneous.     The  letter 

century  ago  merchants  and  shop-  sent  to  Augustus  by  an  Indian  king 

keepers  in  Mysore  universally  em-  was  on  parc-hment   Strabo,  xv,  73  . 

ployed  long  strips  of  cotton  clotli,  The  bark  referred  to,  that  of  the 

from  8  to  12  inches  wide,  and  12  to  birch    Betnla  ntU'is  ,  was  used  only 

18  feet  long,  as  writing  material.  in    Northern    India.     'The  tender 

In  ancient  times  these  strips   AafZe^  side    of    the    barks    of    trees    re- 

tum     were   used   for    records    and  ceives  written  characters  like  paper' 

public  documents.     The  Kanarese  Curtius,  viii,  9  .     Many  of  the  ap- 

writing  on  them  was  done  with  a  parent  discrepancies  in  the  Greek 

pencil  of  Imlajntm,  or  lapis  oll(tris,  accounts  of  India  are  due  to  the 

and  could  be  rubbed  out  and  re-  fact  that  different  authors  refer  to 

newed.      The    strips    were   neatly  different    parts     of    the    countrj-. 

folded  and  kept  in  cases    Wilson,  General    statements    about    India 

Mackemif  Collection,  p.   ^12 ;   2nd  are  always  misleading, 
ed.,  Madras,  1882,.    The  statement 


THE  ARTH  AS  ASTRA  137 

Kautilya^  the  wily  Brahman  minister  of  Chandragupta.  The 
researches  of  German  scliohirs  have  estahlished  beyond  doubt 
the  fact  that  the  treatise  entitled  Arthasdstra,  or  the  Science 
of  Policy,  is  an  authentic  composition  of  Maurya  age. 
Whether  or  not  it  was  actually  \vritten  by  Chanakya,  as  it 
professes  to  have  beeiij  is  immaterial.  The  book  certainly 
expounds  the  principles  of  statecraft  current  in  his  age, 
which  must  have  guided  his  successful  policy.  It  is  of  extra- 
ordinary value  and  interest,  shedding  '  more  light  upon  the 
realities  of  ancient  India,  especially  as  concerns  administra- 
tion, law,  trade,  war,  and  peace,  than  any  text  which  we 
possess  \  The  treatise  may  be  read,  from  one  point  of  view, 
as  a  commentary  on  and  exposition  of  the  notes  recorded  by 
the  Greek  observers.  References  to  a  few  passages  in  illus- 
tration of  certain  details  from  that  point  of  view,  have  been 
inserted  above  in  the  notes,  but  a  fuller  notice  of  some  of 
the  contents  is  indispensable,  and  will  be  found  to  add  largely 
to  the  knowledge  gained  from  the  writings  of  the  Greek 
authors. 

It  is  not  desirable  to  amalgamate  the  rules  laid  down  in  JrthaMs- 
the  Arthascistra  with  the  descriptions  recorded  by  the  Greeks,  '^".^^" 
because  the  latter  present  to  us  the  impression  made  upon  pre- 
foreign  observers  of  institutions  actually  existing  at  a  par-  q^^\.^ 
ticular  date,  300  b.c.  in  round  numbers,  after  the  foundation  tions. 
of  the  Maurya  empire;    whereas   the   former   express   the 
arrangements  favoured  by  Brahman   ministers,  as   suitable 
for  any  independent  kingdom  at  any  time.    The  Arthasdstra 
text-book    cites   the    opinions    of    many    earlier    authors    of 
unknown  anticjuity,  and  treats  of  the  political  state  of  India 
prior  to  the  establishment  of   a   paramount   power  by  the 
Mauryas.^     We  may  accept  it  as  an  authoritative  account  of 
political  and  social  conditions  in  the  Gangetic  plain  in  the 
age  of  Alexander  the  Great,  325  b.  c.     The  book  does  not 

^  ^  This  ArthaMstra  ov  Science  oi  Ant.,  1910,  p.  175%    '  Having  seen 

Polity  has  been  made  as  a  compen-  innumerable  discrepancies  of  com- 

dium    of    all    those    Arthamstras  mentators   in   their   commentaries 

which,  as  a  guidance  to  kings  in  on  SdtStras,  Vishnugupta  composed 

acquiring  and  maintaining  the  earth,  the  aphorisms  and  their  commen- 

have    been     written     by     ancient  tary  of  his  own '   ibid.,  p.  177). 
teachers'  (Bk.    xv,    ch.    1;    Ind. 


138       CHANDRAGUPTA   AND    BINDUSARA 


Autocracy 
tempered 
by  rever- 
ence for 
Brah- 
mans. 


The 

treatise 

applies 

only  to  a 

small 

kingdom. 


Every 
kingdom 
actually  or 
poten- 
tially 
hostile. 


concern  itself  with  the  Dravidian  kingdoms  of  the  South, 
which  were  organized  in  other  fashions. 

Tlie  only  form  of  government  described  in  detail  by  the 
author  Mas  an  absolute  autocracy.  He  makes  merely  passing 
allusions  to  the  existence  of  tribal  organizations  among  the 
Lichchluuis  and  other  communities.^  The  free  will  of  the 
autocrat,  uncontrolled  by  any  constitutional  traditions  or 
machinery,  was  restricted  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  customary 
reverence  for  Brahmans,  which  was  well  established  even  at 
that  early  date.  As  a  rule,  Brahmans  were  exempt  from 
capital  punishment,  the  only  exception  being  that  a  Brahman 
convicted  of  high  treason  might  be  executed  by  drowning, 
instead  of  being  burnt  alive  as  a  member  of  another  caste 
should  be.^  Brahmans  convicted  of  certain  other  offences 
might  be  branded  in  the  face,  and  then  either  banished  or 
sent  to  the  mines  for  life.  Both  Brahmans  and  ascetics 
were  exempt  from  liability  to  judicial  torture  for  the  purpose 
of  extracting  a  confession.^ 

Tiie  author  assumes  that  the  principles  expounded  by  him 
are  to  be  applied  in  the  government  of  a  small  kingdom, 
surrounded  by  other  similar  kingdoms,  all  either  actually  or 
potentially  hostile.  The  rules  of  the  text-book  do  not  provide 
for  the  needs  of  an  extensive  consolidated  empire,  and  it  is 
obvious  that  the  work  deals  with  the  state  of  things  as  exist- 
ing before  the  Mauryas  had  accpiired  paramount  power. 

Permanent  peace  between  neighbouring  states  was  re- 
garded as  unattainable.     We  are  instructed  that 

'  whoever  is  superior  in  power  shall  wage  war ' ;  * 

'  whoever  is  rising  in  power  may  break  the  agreement  of 

peace ' ; ^ 

'  the  king  who  is  situated  anywhere  on  the  circumference 

of  the  conqueror's  territory  is  termed  the  enemy  ^j*' 


'  *  Sovereignty  may  be  the  pro- 
perty of  a  clan  ',  kulasya  vd  bhaved 
rfrji/am  Bk.  i,  ch.  17,  endj.  For 
names  of  tribal  communities  see 
Bk.  xi,  ch.  1  (Ind.  Ant.,  1910, 
p.  117.  Cf.  the  Malavas  and  Kshu- 
drakas  of  the  Panjjib  in  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great. 


2  Bk.  iv,  ch.  11. 

^  Bk.  iv,  ch.  8. 

*  Bk.  vii,  ch.  1  {hid.  Ant.,  1909, 
p.  303  \ 

»  Bk.  vii,  ch.  17  {Ind.  Ant.,  1910, 
p.  39). 

"  Bk.  iv,  ch,  2. 


ESPIONAGE  139 

'when  ;i  king  of  equal  power  does  not  like  i)ea('e,  then  the 
same  amount  of  vexation  as  his  opponent  has  reeeived  at  his 
hands  should  be  given  to  him  in  return ;  for  it  is  power 
that  brings  about  peace  between  any  two  kings ;  no  piece 
of  iron  that  is  not  made  red-hot  will  combine  with  another 
piece  of  iron  '.^ 

The  relations  between  the  kingdoms  prior  to  the  consolida-  No  nioral- 
tion  of  the  Maurya  empire  consequently  involved  an  unceasing  '^.^ '"  , ., 
struggle  for  existence.  Might  was  right.  No  prince  pre- 
tended to  trust  any  other  ruler  for  a  moment,  or  to  keep 
faith  if  he  felt  strong  enough  to  break  the  pact.  No  con- 
siderations of  morality  were  allowed  to  influence  statecraft, 
which  avowedly  preferred  the  use  of  insidious  and  treacherous 
means,  including  every  form  of  secret  assassination.  The 
maxim  that  the  vices  of  ordinary  people  are  virtues  in  kings 
was  plainly  enunciated,  and,  as  history  shows,  was  constantly 
acted  on.  Skill  in  intrigue  was  a  better  qualification  for 
kingship  than  either  power  or  enthusiasm.^ 

The  in\eterate  and  universal  suspicion  which  regulated  the  Universal 
dealings  between  every  Raja  and  his  fellow-rulers  governed  suspicion 
the   conduct   of    the   prince   to   his   officials   and   subjects,  espionage. 
Nobody   was   to   be   trusted.     The   government    relied    on 
a  highly  organized  system   of   espionage,  pervading   every 
department   of   the   administration   and    every   class  of   the 
population.     The  formal  rules  concerning  spies   occupy    a 
prominent   place   in    the   treatise,    every    chapter  of   which 
assumes  that  the  working  of  the  machinery  of  govermnent 
depends  mainly  on  the  successful  utilization   of   secret  in- 
formation.^ 

The  statements  of  Strabo  concerning  the  emj^loymcnt  of  Employ- 
courtesans  as  spies  and    informers   are  fully  supported   by  ™^"*'  ^^ 
regulations  on  the   subject.     The   courtesans,  indeed,  were  tesans. 
regarded  to  a  large  extent  as  court  officials,  women  of  that 
class,  under  the  orders   of   a    Superintendent    and    Deputy 
Superintendent,  being  appointed  to  hold  the  royal  umbrella, 
golden  pitcher,  and  fan,  and  to  attend  on  the  king  when  he 

1  Bk.  vii,  ch.  3  (Ind.  Ant.,  1909,  p.  307). 

^  Bk.  ix,  ch.  1  (Ind.  An'.,  1910,  p.  91  . 

^  The  formal  rules  are  mostly  in  Bk.  i,  ch.  11,  12, 


140        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 


Princes 
like  crabs, 


The  duty 
of  a  kinfj. 


Privy 
Council 


Depart- 
ments. 


was  seated  on  his  throne,  or  in  iiis  litter  or  chariot.  A  long 
cliapter  is  devoted  to  the  regulations  concerning  puhlic 
wonicn.^  Cipher  writing  was  used  by  the  spies,  and  carrier 
pigeons  were  employed  to  carry  secret  intelligence.^  The 
Intelligence  Department  was  controlled  by  five  *  Institutes  of 
Espionage',  in  which  the  reports  were  checked  and  verified. 

The  king  lived  in  continual  terror  of  the  members  of  his 
family,  ^  for  on  account  of  the  kingdom  the  father  hates  his 
sons,  and  sons  hate  their  father'.^  Jahanglr  long  afterwards 
expressed  the  same  sentiment  in  the  maxim  that  '  kingship 
regards  neither  son  nor  son-in-law.  No  one  is  a  relation  to 
a  king  'J^  Another  similar  aphorism  is  that  *  princes,  like 
crabs,  have  a  notorious  tendency  towards  eating  up  their 
begetter  '.^ 

The  autocrat  was  expected  to  work  hard.  In  language 
w  liich  recalls  that  of  Asoka's  edicts,  the  author  directs  that 
the  king 

'shall,  therefore,  attend  personally  to  the  business  of  gods, 
of  heretics,  of  Brahmans  learned  in  the  Vedas,  of  cattle,  of 
sacred  places,  of  minors,  the  aged,  the  afflicted,  and  the  help- 
less, and  of  women ;  all  this  in  order  of  enumeration,  or 
according  to  the  urgency  or  pressure  of  those  works. 

'  All  urgent  calls  he  shall  hear  at  once,  but  never  put  off ; 
for  when  postponed,  they  will  prove  too  hard  or  impossible 
to  accomplish  '.^ 

The  king  was  assisted  by  a  Privy  Council,  which  should 
consist  of  either  twelve  or  sixteen  members,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  certain  authors,  but  should  comprise  as  many 
councillors  as  the  needs  of  the  state  demanded,  according  to 
the  wiser  judgement  of  Chanakya."^ 

Eighteen  departments  of  the  administration  are  mentioned, 
and  long  lists  of  the  chief  officials  are  given.  They  include 
a  Chamberlain, Collector-General,  Accountant-General,  Super- 
intendent of  Agriculture,  Superintendent  of  Manufactures, 
and  many  others.^ 

'  Bk.  ii,  ch.  27.  ■■  Bk.  i,  eh.  17. 

2  Bk.  ii,  ch.  31.  «  Bk.  i,  ch.  19. 

3  Bk.v,ch.()f/nd.yi/(/.,1909,p.  280\  ^  Bk.  i,  ch.  15. 

^  Memoirs,     trans!.      Rogers      and  ^^  Bk.  i,  ch.  19,  1.5. 

Beveridge. 


FINANCE  141 

The  Boards  described  by  Megasthenes  as  in  charge  of  the  No 
business  of   the  capital  and  the  army  are  unknown  to  the    °^^  '^' 
author,  who  contemplated  each  such  charge  as  the  duty  of 
a  single  officer.     The  creation  of  the  Boards  may  have  been 
an   innovation   effected    by   Chandragupta   personally.     The 
treatise  confirms  the  Greek  accounts  in  many  particulars. 

A  curious  table  of  rates  of  salary  is  given.  The  pay  Salaries 
ranged  from  48,000  silver  panas  a  year  for  the  heir  apparent ' 
and  certain  high  officers  of  state  to  60  panas  for  a  labourer.^ 
No  specimen  of  a  silver  pana  is  known,  but  it  was  pre- 
sumably of  the  same  weight  as  a  copper  karsha,  namely, 
about  146  grains,  or  ^-^Q  grammes.^  The  ^punch-marked^ 
pieces  of  impure  silver  {purana  or  dharana),  which  are  known 
to  have  been  in  ordinary  use  in  the  author's  time,  are  struck 
to  a  standard  of  about  56  grains,  or  3-628  grammes.  Possibly 
this  silver  pana  may  have  been  only  a  money  of  account. 
The  value  of  a  silver  pana,  which  presumably  was  much 
alloyed  like  the  '  punch-marked '  coins,  may  be  taken  as  not 
far  from  a  shilling. 

The  sound  doctrine  is  inculcated   that  '  all   undertakings  Finance, 
depend    upon    finance.     Hence  foremost  attention  shall  be 
paid  to  the  Treasury '?    It  is  impossible  for  me  to  go  minutely 
into  a  description  of  the  financial  arrangements,  and  only  a  few- 
points  can  be  noted. 

The  Superintendent  of  Agriculture,  like  a  modern  settle-  Land- 
ment  officer,  was  required  to  assess  land   at  rates   varying  and^water- 
according  to  the  different  methods  of  irrigation  used.     The  rates. 
normal  share  of  the  produce  taken  by  the  State  as  'land- 
revenue  'j  or  crown  rent,  being  one-fom-th,  the  amount  taken 
as  water-rate  was  approximately  equal,  varying  from  one-fifth 
to  one-third.     Various  other  dues  also  were  exacted,  so  that 
the  cultivator  of  irrigated  land  could  not  retain  as  much  as 
half  of  the  produce  of  his  fields.* 

All    subjects    were   further    required    to    pay    occasional  Benevo- 
'  benevolences '   on  special   occasions,  levied   at   the   king's  ^^^^^^^^ 

1  Bk.  X,  ch.  3  {Ind.  Ant.,  1909,  p.  263). 

^  For  coinage,  see  Bk.  ii,  ch.  12,  14. 

3  Bk.  ii,  ch.  8.  ^  Bk.  ii,  ch.  24. 


U2       CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

discretion.  The  suggestions  concerning  the  metliods  by 
which  :i  necessitous  monarch  might  extort  money  are  of 
more  than  Machiavellian  wickedness.  The  history  of  Kash- 
mir supplies  painful  illustrations  of  the  application  of  the 
author's  prescriptions.  One  way  or  another  the  Crown  took 
all  it  could  get. 
Sale  of  Modern  financiers  are  not  always  averse  to  employing  the 

onours.  ^  policy  of  thinning  the  rich  by  exacting  excessive  revenue 
{karsanam),  or  causing  them  to  vomit  their  accumulated 
wealth  (vamanam).'  ^  Nor  is  the  practice  of  selling  honours 
strange  to  European  politicians,  though  they  do  not  usually 
care  to  express  themselves  in  language  so  plain  as  that  used 
by  Chanakya,  who  says : — 

^  Wealthy  persons  may  be  requested  to  give  as  much  of 
their  gold  as  they  can.  Those  who,  of  their  own  accord  or 
with  the  intention  of  doing  good,  offer  their  wealth  to  the 
king  shall  be  honoured  with  a  rank  in  the  court,  an  umbrella, 
or  a  turban,  or  some  ornaments  in  return  for  their  gold.^^ 

Taxes  on        In  fortified  towns  the  royal  revenue  was  derived  largely 
sdlcs 

from  taxes  or  sales,  as  stated  by  Megasthenes.     In  order  to 

facilitate  the  collection  of  this  important  branch  of  the  public 
income,  the  cardinal  rule  was  laid  down  that  commodities 
should  not  be  sold  at  the  place  of  growth  or  manufacture.^ 
The  law  required  that  all  articles  for  sale  (excepting  grain, 
cattle,  and  some  others)  should  be  brought  to  the  toll-house 
near  the  town  gate,  there  offered  for  sale,  and  if  sold,  taxed. 
Toll  was  paid  only  when  actual  sale  took  place.  The  rates 
of  duty  varied  widely.  Imports  from  abroad  paid,  as  a  rule, 
seven  distinct  taxes,  aggregating  about  20  per  cent.;  perish- 
able goods,  sutrh  as  fruit  and  vegetables,  were  charged  one- 
sixth  of  the  value,  or  ]6|  per  cent.;  while  on  many  other 
classes  of  Mares  the  rates  of  duty  ranged  from  4  to  10 
per  cent.  Highly  priced  goods,  such  as  precious  stones, 
were  assessed  on  special  valuations  made  by  experts.  All 
goods  brought  for  sale  had  to  be   marked   ^ith   an   ofticial 

'  Bk.  iv,  ch.  [i. 

2  Bk.  V,  ch.  2    Ind.  Ant.,  1909,  p.  261). 

''  Bk.  ii,  ch.  ^3. 


PENAL  CODE  U'6 

stump.      The    Greek   phrase,   and  avaai'iijuw,   refers   to    that 
practice.^ 

The  Greek  observations  on  the  subject  of  vital  statistics  Statistics, 
are  illustrated  by  the  regulations  which  require  the  Nagaraka, 
or  Town  Prefect,  to  register  every  arrival  in  or  departure 
from  his  jurisdiction.  He  was  also  bound  to  keep  up 
a  census  statement  giving  in  detail  for  each  inhabitant  the 
sex,  caste,  name,  family  name,  occupation,  income,  expen- 
diture, and  possessions  in  cattle.  Breaches  of  the  fiscal 
regulations  were  punishable  usually  by  fine  or  confiscation, 
but  the  penalty  for  wilful  false  statements  was  the  same  as 
that  for  theft,  which  might  extend  to  death.^ 

A  regular  system  of  excise  licences  was  in  force,  special  Excise, 
duties  being  levied  on  foreign  liquors,  including  wines  from 
Kapisa  or  Afghanistan.     Modern  temperance  reformers  may 
be  scandalized  by  the  regulations  that 

'  liquor  shops  shall  consist  of  many  comfortable  rooms, 
furnished  with  cots  and  seats.  The  drinking  places  shall 
possess  such  comforts  as  changing  seasons  require,  always 
having  garlands  of  flowers,  scent,  and  perfume  '.^ 

The  Science  of  Government,  we  are  told,  may  be  defined  Penal 
as  the  science  of  punishment  {danda  niti).  The  penal  code, 
in  consequence,  was  ferociously  severe.  The  details  in  the 
treatise  amply  support  the  Greek  references  to  the  subject. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  severity  of  punishment,  it  may  suftice 
to  note  that  theft  by  a  government  servant  to  the  value  of 
from  8  to  10  punas  was  punishable  with  death,  as  was  theft 
of  a  value  of  from  40  to  50  panas  by  a  non-official  person.* 

Judicial  torture  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  a  confession  Judicial 
was  recognized  and  freely  used.    Many  gruesome  regulations  t^""""^- 
on  the  subject   are   recorded.     The   general    principle   laid 
down  was  that  '  those  whose  guilt  is  believed  to  be  true  shall 
be  subjected  to  torture',  of  which  there  were  eighteen  kinds, 
including  seven  varieties  of  whipping.     In  certain  cases  the 

^  Bk.  ii,  ch.  21,  22.   The  ordinary       {sindura)  {Ep.  Ind.,  vii,  -230,  with 
practice  in  later  times,  and  pro-      ref.). 
bably  also  in  the  Maurya  age,  was  -  Bk.  ii,  eh.  35,  36. 

to  do  the  stamping  with  red-lead  ^  Bk.  ii,  ch.  25. 

^  Bk.  i,  ch.  4. 


144        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 


The 
Arllia- 
mstra  a 
practical 
inaiuial. 


Success  of 

Chandra- 

gupta. 


victim  might  be  '  subjected  to  one  or  all  of  the  above  kinds 
of  torture'.  Tiie  torture  of  women  was  supposed  to  be 
limited  to  *  half  the  prescribed  standard  '.^  Every  Indian 
policeman  still  believes  that  the  main  object  of  investigation 
is  to  extract  a  confession,  and  that  torture  is  the  proper  way 
of  obtaining  it. 

Chtinakya's  code  not  only  authorized  judicial  torture  and 
the  capital  penalty  for  petty  offences,  but  also  prescribed 
mutilation  in  numerous  cases. 

Many  matters  of  interest  and  curiosity  have  been  neces- 
sarily passed  over,  but  the  foregoing  summary  will,  it  is 
hoped,  be  sufficient  to  give  the  reader  a  fairly  accurate  notion 
of  the  principles  on  which  the  small  kingdoms  of  Northern 
India  were  administered  in  the  days  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
Although  many  of  the  rules  in  Chanakya's  treatise  are 
puerile,  and  some  merely  theoretical,  the  book  on  the  \vhole 
was  intended  to  be  a  practical  manual  of  statecraft  and 
administration,  and  as  such  it  is  well  worth  reading  through. 
Books  like  the  so-called  Laws  of  Maiiu  and  Dhurmasdstras 
set  forth  the  Brahman  ideal — the  treatise  of  Chandragupta's 
minister  openly  discards  ideals  and  presents  a  plain  unvar- 
nished statement  of  the  immoral  practice  of  kings  and 
Brahman  ministers  in  the  fourth  centurj'  before  Christ,  prior 
to  the  realization  of  the  novel  idea  of  a  great  empire  extending 
over  nearly  all  India. - 

Chandragupta  ascended  the  throne  at  an  early  age,  and 

inasmuch  as  he  reigned  only  twenty-four  years,  must  have 

abdicated  or  died  before  he  was  fifty  years  of  age.^     In  this 

brief    space  of   life   he   did   much.     The    expulsion    of   the 

Macedonian  garrisons,  the  decisive  repulse  of  Seleukos  the 

The  statement  in  Tumour's  and 
Wijesinha's  versions  of  the  Muhd- 
vaihisd  that  Chandragupta  reigned 
for  tliirty-four  years  is  due  to  a  copy- 
ist's blunder  (Rhys  Davids,  Ancient 
Coins  and  Pleasures  of  Ceylon,  p.  41, 
note).  Geiger's  version  (chap,  v) 
correctly  gives  twenty-four  years. 
Buddhist  and  Brahmanical  authori- 
ties being  agreed  in  the  matter, 
the  fact  may  be  accepted  as  estab- 
lished. 


'  Bk.  iv,  ch.  8. 
2  See  App.  F. 

^  He  was  but  a  youth  when  he 

saw  Alexander  in  i-2(i  or  325  it.  c. 

(Plutarch,  Alex.  ch.  li-2. 

'  This  Chandragupta  !  yet  so  young 

— so  raised 

To  mighty  empire,  as  the  forest 

monarch. 
Over  subjected  herds ' 
{Mudrd  Jiukish(ma,  Act  vii ;  Wilson, 
ij,  p.  2VJ). 


PERSIAN  INFLUENCE  145 

Conqueror,  the  subjugation  of  at  least  all  Northern  India 
from  sea  to  sea,  the  formation  of  a  gigantic  army,  and  the 
thorough  organization  of  the  civil  government  of  a  vast 
empire  were  no  mean  achievements.  The  power  of  Chan- 
dragupta  was  so  firmly  established  that  it  passed  peacefully 
into  the  hands  of  his  son  and  grandson,  and  his  alliance  was 
courted  by  the  potentates  of  the  Hellenistic  world.  The 
Greek  princes  made  no  attempt  to  renew  the  aggressions  of 
Alexander  and  Seleukos  upon  secluded  India,  and  M'ere 
content  to  maintain  friendly  diplomatic  and  commercial 
relations  with  her  rulers  for  three  generations.^ 

The  Maurya  empire  was  not,  as  some  writers  fancy  that  it  Absence 
was,  in  any  way  the  result  of  Alexander's  splendid  but  "g^i^. 
transitory  raid.  The  nineteen  months  which  he  spent  in  India  influence, 
were  consumed  in  devastating  warfare,  and  his  death  rendered 
fruitless  all  his  grand  constructive  plans.  Chandragupta  did 
not  need  Alexander's  example  to  teach  him  what  empire 
meant.  He  and  his  countrymen  had  had  before  their  eyes 
for  two  centuries  the  stately  fabric  of  the  Persian  Achaeme- 
nian  monarchy,  and  it  was  that  empire  which  impressed  their 
imagination,  and  served  as  the  model  for  their  institutions, 
in  so  far  as  they  were  not  indigenous.  The  little  touches  of 
foreign  manners  in  the  court  and  institutions  of  Chandra- 
gupta, which  chance  to  have  been  noted  by  our  fragmentary 
authorities,  are  Persian,  not  Greek ;  and  the  Persian  title  of 
satrap  continued  to  be  used  by  Indian  provincial  governors 
for  ages,  down  to  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  of  the 
Christian  era.'^ 

The  military  organization  of  Chandragupta  shows  no  trace  Indian 

of  Hellenic  influence.     It  is  based  upon  the  ancient  Indian  niil^t^fy 

r  organiza- 

model,  and  his  vast  host  was  merely  a  development  of  the  tion. 

1  For  the  curious  anecdote  about  were  conquered}  by  Chandra-gupta 
the  powerful  aphrodisiac  drugs  sent  fll)  Vikraraaditya,  of  the  Gupta 
with  other  gifts  by  Chandragupta  dynasty,  about  a",  n.  390.  See  '  Per- 
( 2ai/5/9o/cuTTos)  to  Seleukos,  see  Phyl-  sian  Influence  on  Maurya  India', 
archos  and  Apollonios  Dyskolos,  hul.  Ant.  (1905  ,  p.  201.  A 
in  Miiller,  Fraymenta  HistorU-oritm  patriotic  Hindu  critic  urges  that 
Graecorum,  i,  344.  Chandragupta    needed    to    go    no 

2  The  l^aka  satraps  of  Saurashtra,  farther  for  his  model  than  the  story 
or  Kathiawar,   in   Western    India  of  Da^aratha  in  the  Ramayana. 


146        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

considerable  army  maintained  by  the  kingdom  of  Magadha. 
The  Indian  kings  relied  chiefly  upon  their  elephants,  and  in 
a  lesser  degree  upon  chariots  and  huge  masses  of  infantry ; 
the  cavalry  being  few  in  comparison  and  inefficient.  Alex- 
ander, on  the  contrary,  made  no  use  of  elephants  or  chariots, 
and  put  his  trust  in  small  bodies  of  highly  trained  cavalry, 
handled  with  consummate  skill  and  calculated  audacity.  In 
the  art  of  war  he  had  no  successor.  The  Seleukidan  kings 
were  content  to  follow  the  Oriental  system  and  put  their 
trust  in  elephants.^ 
Alleged  Jain  tradition  avers  that  Chandragupta  Maury  a  ^^'as  a  Jain, 

of  Clian-"  '^"^^  that,  when  a  great  twelve  years'  famine  occurred,  he 
dragupta.  abdicated,  accompanied  Bhadrabahu,  the  last  of  the  saints 
called  srutakevalins,  to  the  south,  lived  as  an  ascetic  at 
Sravana  Belgola  in  Mysore,  and  ultimately  committed  suicide 
by  starvation  at  that  place,  Mhere  his  name  is  still  held  in 
remembrance.  In  the  second  edition  of  this  book  I  rejected 
that  tradition  and  dismissed  the  tale  as  '  imaginary  history '. 
But  on  reconsideration  of  the  whole  evidence  and  the  objec- 
tions urged  against  the  credibility  of  the  story,  I  am  now 
disposed  to  believe  that  the  tradition  probably  is  true  in  its 
main  outline,  and  that  Chandragupta  really  abdicated  and 
became  a  Jain  ascetic.  The  traditional  narratives,  of  course, 
like  all  such  relations,  are  open  to  much  criticism,  and  the 
epigra2)hical  support  is  far  from  conclusive.  Nevertheless, 
my  present  impression  is  that  the  tradition  has  a  solid 
foundation  on  fact.^ 
298  II.  c.  When  Chandragupta  either  abdicated  or  died,  in  the  year 

Bindu-  293  jj  (^ ^  j-jg  ^y.^g  succeeded  by  his  son  Bindusara.  The 
Greek  writers,  however,  do  not  know  this  name,  and  call  the 
successor  of  Chandragupta  by  appellations  which  seem  to  be 
attempts  to  transcribe  the  Sanskrit  epithet  Amitraghata, 
*  Slayer  of  foes.' "     The  friendly  relations  between  India  and 

^  Bevan,  The  House  of  Seleucus,  Fleet  is  equally  persistent  on  the 

ii.  "289.  other  side,  and   has   recorded   his 

*  Mr.    Lewis    Rice   has   stoutly  views  in  Ind.  Ant.,  xxi  (189-3;,  p. 

maintiined  the  credibility  of  the  287;   Ep.  Ind.,  iii,   171  note  ;   and 

tradition  in  many  publications,  the  several  times  in  ./.  Jt  A.  S. 

latest  being  Mysore  and  Coorif  from  •"'  For  the  Maurya  chronology  see 

ihe  Innrri]>tions,  \W)(),\)\^.^-i).'  Dr.  Anoka,    the    Biiddhht    Emperor   of 


sara 


RELATIONS  WITH  SYRIA  AND  EGYPT     147 

the  Hellenistic  powers,  which  had  been  initiated  by  Chundra- 
gupta  and  Seleukos,  continued  unbroken  throughout  the  reign 
of  Bindusara,  at  whose  court  Megasthenes  was  replaced  by 
Deimachos,  as  ambassador.  The  new  envoy  followed  his 
predecessor's  example  by  recording  notes  on  the  country  to 
which  he  was  accredited,  but  unfortunately  very  few  of  his 
observations  have  been  preserved.  When  the  aged  founder 
of  the  Seleukidan  monarchy  was  assassinated  in  280  n.c,  his 
place  was  taken  by  his  son  and  colleague  Antiochos  Soter, 
who  continued  to  follow  his  father's  policy  in  regard  to  India. 

The   anecdote    concerning    the    correspondence    between  Corre- 
Antiochos  and  Bindusara,  althougb  trivial  in  itself,  is  worth  ^^^11*^^"^^ 
quoting   as    a   tangible    proof   of    the   familiar    intercourse  Antiochos 
between  the  sovereign  of  India  and  his  ally  in  Western  Asia. 
Nothing,  we  are  told,  being  sweeter  than  figs,  Bindusara 
begged  Antiochos  to  send  him  some  figs  and  raisin  wine, 
and  added  that  he  would  like  him  also  to  buy  and  send 
a  professor.     Antiochos  replied  that  he  had  much  pleasure 
in  forwarding  the  figs  and  raisin  wine,  but  regretted  that 
he  could  not  oblige  his  correspondent  with  the  last-named 
article,    because   it   was   not   lawful   for    Greeks   to   sell   a 
professor.^ 

Ptolemy  Philadelphos,  who  ruled  in  Egypt  from  285  to  Embassy 
247  B.C.,  also  dispatched  an  envoy  named  Dionysios  to  the  i)ioj,ygios 
Indian  Court,  who,  like  his  colleagues,  wrote  an  account  of 

Indut  (Clarendon   Press,  2nd   ed.,  transcription  of  the  supposed  San- 

1909),  pp.  72,73.  The  name  Bindusara  skrit  original  (see  Schwanbeck,  op. 

is  attested  by  the   Hindu    Vishuu  cit.,  p.  77).    Indian  kings  are  often 

Purana,the  Jain  Parisish/aiiarvan,  known   by  one   or   other   epithet, 

and  the  Buddhist  Mahmamsa  and  used  as  a  secondary  name. 

Dlpavam^a.     The  variants  in  other  '  Ovtoj  hi  riaav  TrtpianovdaaTai  naaiv 

Puranas  seem  to  be  merely  clerical  dvOpwirois  al  iVxaSfs  [^ovtojs  -yap,  /cara 

errors.     'KvffKpOijaav  i.iev   yap  ds  rd  tov  'Apiarotfxivrjv, 

naXifjifioOpa,    6    fiiv   Meyaa$a'7]s   irpus  '  OvSiu   yap  ovtojs   yXviivnpov   tmv 

'AvSpuKOTToy,     u     h\     Arjlfxaxo's     irpus  laxdSaiv''), 

'AfiirpoxaSi]!'    tov    iKuvov    viov    Kara  ws  xaVAfJ-npoxdrrji',  tvv  rwv 'IvSwv  ^a- 

irpea^iiav   (Strabo,    ii,    1,    9).     The  (n\ea,ypdtpai'AvTi6x<i>,d^iovuTa((l>r]ijii' 

more    corrupt    form    Allitrochades  'HyrjaavSpos)  ireixipai  avrw  yXvKW  koi 

occurs  in  some  texts,  and  evidently  iVxdSas    /rat     aotpiarfiv    dyopdaavra, 

is  due  to  confusion  between  AAAI  Kal   tov  'Avtioxov   dvnypdipai — '  'la- 

and  AMI,    Hegesandros,  quoted  by  x"^"*   i"^"   ''O'   yKvuiiv  dnoaTiXovpiiv 

Athenaios    (Miiller,    Frag.     Hist.  aoi,     aalHaT^v    5'    iv    "EW-qaiv    ov 

Graec,  voL  iv,  p.  421;,  writes  v6nip.ov  -nojXiiaOai'  {M\i\\(i\\\oc.c\\..). 
'AfiiTpoxaTrj's,  which  is  an  accurate 

I.  2 


148        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 


Conquest 
of  the 
Dcfcan. 


Probably 
r-ffected 

by 

Bindu- 
sara. 


his  experiences,  which  was  still  available  to  Pliny  in  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era.^  It  is  uncertain  whether 
Dionysios  presented  his  credentials  to  Bindusara  or  to  his 
successor,  Asoka. 

Nothing  is  recorded  concerning  the  internal  policy  oi" 
Bindusara,  ^hose  reign  lasted  for  either  twenty-five  or 
twenty-eight  years,  nor  is  any  monument  or  inscription  of 
his  time  kno^^•n.  But  it  is  probable  that  he  continued  his 
father's  career  of  annexation  and  conquest  within  the  borders 
of  India.  Tiie  limits  of  the  empire  ruled  by  Asoka,  son 
and  successor  of  Bindusara,  are  known  with  sufficient 
accuracy,  and  it  is  certain  that  his  dominions,  including 
semi-independent  protectorates,  extended  southwards  to 
about  the  latitude  of  Nellore  (14°  27' N.).-  The  country 
south  of  the  Narbada  cannot  have  been  conquered  by  Asoka, 
whose  only  known  annexation  was  that  of  the  kingdom  of 
Kalinga,  on  the  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  unless  the 
conquest  took  place  in  the  early  years  of  his  reign,  about 
which  we  possess  no  information.  The  twenty-four  years  of 
the  reign  of  Chandragupta  seem  to  be  fully  occupied  with  the 
great  e\ents  known  to  ha\e  been  crowded  into  them.  It  is 
difficult  to  belie\e  that  he  could  have  found  time  to  do  more 
than  climb  from  obscurity  to  power,  expel  the  Macedonian 
garrisons,  repel  the  attack  of  Seleukos,  effect  a  revolution 
and  establish  a  dynasty  at  Pataliputra,  annex  a  large  part 
of  Ariana,  and  extend  his  dominion  from  tiie  Bay  of  Bengal 
to  the  Arabian  Sea. 

Tlie  Deccan,  or  Peninsular  India,  down  to  approximatelv 
tlic  latitude  of  Nellore,  must  therefore,  apparently,  have  been 
subjugated  by  either  Chandragupta  or  Bindusara,  because 
it  was  inherited  from  the  latter  by  Asoka,  whose  only 
recorded  war  was  the  conquest  of  Kalinga;   and  it  is  more 


1  V\ir)y,  IIis(.Xat.\\,n.  Pliny's 
work  is  believed  to  have  been 
published  in  a.d.  77. 

-  According?  to  Mr.  Rice,  'an 
inscription  of  the  twelfth  century, 
at  Handanikke,  Shikarpur  taluk, 
Mysore,  describes  Kuntala  as  the 
province  governed  by  the  Mauryas. 
This,  roughly  speaking,  would  be 


the  country  between  the  rivers 
Bhima  and  Vedavati,  bounded  on 
the  west  by  the  Ghats,  including 
Shimoga,  Chitaldroog,  Bellary, 
Dharwar,  Bijapur,  and  adjacent 
parts  to  the  north  in  Bombay  and 
the  Nizam's  Dominions'  {Mysore 
Oaz.  (1897),  i,  -289). 


CESSION  OF  ARIANA  14-9 

probable  that  the  conquest  of  the  south  was  the  work  of 
Bindusara  than  that  it  was  effected  by  his  busy  father.^  But 
the  ascertained  outline  of  the  career  of  Chandragupta  is  so 
wonderful,  and  implies  his  possession  of  such  exceptional 
ability,  that  it  is  possible  that  the  conquest  of  the  south  must 
be  added  to  the  list  of  his  achievements.  With  this  brief 
glance  the  shadowy  figure  of  Bindusara  passes  from  our  view, 
and  the  next  two  chapters  will  be  devoted  to  the  history 
of  Asoka,  who  rightfully  claims  a  place  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  great  monarchs,  not  only  of  India,  but  of  the  world. 

APPENDIX   F 

The  Extent  of  the  Cession  of  Ariann  hif  Seleukos  Sikator  to 
Chandragupta  Maurija 

The  statement  in  the  text  that  the  cession  made  in  303  b.  c.  Extent  of 
by  Seleukos  Nikator  to  Cliandragupta  Maurya  included  the  Cession, 
provinces  of  the  Paropanisadae  (Kabul),  Aria  (Herat),  Arachosia 
( Kandahar),  and  probably  Gedrosia  (Makran),  or  a  large  part  of 
that  satrapy,  is  in  accordance  with  the  views  expressed  in  my 
work  on  Asoka '^j  as  well  as  with  those  of  Di'oysen^  and  several 
eminent  modern  scholars. 

But    my    statement    having    been    adversely    criticized    by  Mr. 
Mr.  Bevan,  who  holds  that  it  '  exceeds  what  is  even  probable,  '^^van's 
not  to    say    proved  * ',  it  is  necessary  to  show  that  the  repre-  ^^'  "'sm- 
sentation    of   the    fact   as    given    in    the    text  rests  upon  solid 
grounds.     The  original  authorities  are  five  in  number,  namely, 
Strabo  (two  passages),  Appian,  Plutarch,  Justin,  and  Pliny  ;  and 
the  relevant  extracts,  being  brief,  may  be  quoted  in  full,  so  that 
my  readers  can  judge  for   themselves    what  is  the    legitimate 
interpretation.     All  that  has  been  written  by  modern  authors 
on  the  subject  is  based  upon  these  short  extracts. 

^  Taranath    (Sehiefner,    p.    89)  erstenationale  Reaction '{6'esf/»V/(^^ 

attributes  to   Bindusara  and  Cha-  c?<si?e//em'smi{s, Hamburg,  1836, vol. 

uakya  the  conquest  of  the  country  ii,  69\     The  spelling  Paropanisos  is 

between  the  eastern  and  the  wes-  morecorrect  than  the  forms  with  w. 

tern  seas.  ■*  '  Mr.    V.    A.     Smith    {Asoka, 

■  Asotca,  the  Buddlmt  Emperor  p.  66;  quotes  Strabo  as  saying  that 

o//nrf/a,  2nd  ed.,  p.  15.  Seleucus  ceded    "a  large  part  of 

'  'Aberdannschlosser  [Seleukos]  Ariane",  but  lliat  Strabo  does  not 

einen    Frieden,   in    dem   die    Ero-  say.     In  giving  Arachosia,  the  Ka- 

berungen  Alexanders  auch  diesseits  bul  [avV,  and  even  Gedrosia  to  the 

des  Indus  bis  zu  den  Paropamisaden  new  Indian  realm  Mr.  Vincent  {sic], 

abgetreten  wurden.     Das  war  das  I  think,  exceeds  what  is  even  pro- 

erste,  was  von  dem  grossen  Alex-  bable,  not  to  say  proved ':7'/iei/oM.«« 

anderreich  aufgegeben  wurde,  die  o/,'?e^w?<A',  1902,  vol.  i,  p.  296note). 


150       CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 

Strabo,  I.  (I)  The  two  passages  from  Strabo  are  as  follows  :  //.uAto-ra 
£K  Trj<;  8tatTr;s  cSoKei  rrjs  tot€  TTLCTOTara  eirat  rot  vtto  tov  Eparo- 
a-Oivovi  iv  tw  TpiTO)  twv  yccoypa^iKwr  (.KrcBivTa  Kc^aXaiw8o)S  Trc/at 
T^S  Tort  I'OfU^onevq^  'h'SiKrj<;,  rjVLKO.  'AXe^avSpo'i  iTrrjX$e'  Koi  7jv  o 
'JrSos  o/)ioi'  ravTrj<;  tc  Kai  riys  Aptai'^9,  r/v  i<}>€$rj<;  Trpos  tt^  ecnrepa 
K€Lfi4vr]v  Hepcrai  KaT€'L)(Ov'  varepov  yap  by  kol  t^s  Aptav^s  ttoAA^v 
£o-;^ov  ot  Mi'8ol  Aa^oi'TES  Tra/aa  twv  MaKc8di'0)r  (Bk.  xv,  eh.  i  (India), 
sec.  10  in  Miiller  and  Diibner's  ed.). 

Strabo,  II.  (II)  7]  8e  tcx^is  twv  IOvmv  TOiavrr]'  Trapa  fikv  tov  'lv86i'  ol 
JlapoTrafxiadBai,  wv  vTrepKeLrai  6  UapOTrafxicros  opos,  cit'  A/3a;^wT0t 
Trpos  j'OTOv,  £tT  i<fi€$rjs  Trpos  votov  T eSpMcrrjVol  ai'V  rots  aAAots  Trpos 
Ti^i'  -rrapaXiav  €)(OV(riv'  uTraaL  oc  Trapa  to.  TrXarr]  twv  )((j)pio)v  irapa- 
Kctrai  6  IvSos.  toi'tojv  8'  [ck  yu-epovsj  twv  Trapa  tov  IvSov  t^ovcri 
Tiva  'h'Boi,  TrpoTepov  ovTa  Tlepawv,  a  d(^€t'Aero  p.kv  6  'A\e^avSpo<; 
Twv  Aptai'wv  Kal  KaTOLKLas  iSt'as  crvvcCTTT^rraro,  eSwKC  Se  iS^'Aci^KOs  6 
NiKctTwp  SavSpoKOTTO),  <Tvv6ip.€vo<;  iTTiya/JiLav  Kal  avTi\a/3o)V  cAec^avras 
TTci/TaAroo-im's  (ibid.,  Bk.  XV,  ch.  ii,  9)- 

Appian.  (HI)   Appian    writes  :    Kal   tov   'ivSov  Trepdcra?    [Se'Aci'KOs]    eVo- 

XlpL-ifacv  AvSpoKOTTw,  /SacriXii  twv  irepl  avTov  'IvSwr,  /J.^XP'-  ^'Ai'av 
airw  Kai  kt/Sos  crvveOeTO  ('Vy'"-  55). 

Pliitarcli.  (I\'^)  Plutarch,  arguing  that  the  accounts  of  the  military  force 
of  the  Prasii  were  not  exaggerated,  says :  Kal  ko/xttos  ovk  tjv 
Trepl  ravTa.  Av^poKOTTos  yap  va-Tepov  ov  ttoAAw  /SacriAevVas  SeAciVw 
TrevTaK0(TL0vs  eAe^avras  lowpr](TaTO,  Kai  crTpaTov  p.vpiaaiv  k^rjKOVTa 
T7]v  'IvSiKryv  iTrrjXOev  (".Trarrav  KaTa(rTp€(f)6p.€V0<;'  (^Ale.r.  ch.  ()2). 

Justin.  (\')  Justin's  testimony  is  :    '  [Seleucus]  transitum  deinde    in 

Indian!  fecit,  quae  post  mortem  Alexandri,  veluti  cervicibus  iugo 
sei'vitutis  excusso,  praefectos  eius  occiderat.  Auctor  libertatis 
Sandrocottus  fuerat  .  .  .  cum  quo  facta  jiactione  Seleucus,  com- 
positisque  in  oriente  rebus,  in  bellum  Antigoni  descendit ' 
(XV,  4). 

Pliny.  (VI)  r*l"iyj  when  treating  of  the  Indus  and  the  boundary  of 

India,  says  :  'Etenini  plerique  ab  occidente  non  Indo  amne 
determinant,  sed  adiiciunt  quatuor  satrapias,  Gedrosos,  Arachotas, 
Arios,  Paropamissadas'  (Bk.  vi,  ch.  20,  Basle  ed.,  1551'  (r//.  ch.  23)). 

Interpre-         These    texts    comprise  the  whole  of  the  direct  evidence  on 

tation  of     the  subject.     It  seems  to  me  self-evident  that  the  two  passages 

Strabo.  of  Strabo  refer  to  the  same  event  ;  and  that  when  lie  sa^-s  in 
the  first  that  the  Indians  received  from  the  Macedonians  'a  large 
part  of  Ariane  ',  which  had  been  under  the  rule  of  the  Persians 
up  to  the  time  of  Alexander,  he  briefly  alludes  to  the  cession 
of  the  countries  west  of  the  Indus,  formerly  in  the  possession 
of  the  Persians,  which  Scleukos  ceded  to  Chandragupta,  as 
specifically  stated  in  the  second  extract.  I  cannot  imagine  any 
.sound  reason  for  disputing  the  assertion  that  '  Strabo  informs 
us  that  the  cession  included  a  large  ))art  of  Ariane  '.  When  the 
two  passages  of  Strabo  are  read  together,  I  maintain  that  the 
as.sertion  is  absolutelv  accurate. 


THE  FOUR  SATRAPIES  151 

The  statements  of  Appiaii,  Plutarch,  and  Justin  do  not  deal  The  other 
in  terms  with  the  extent  of  the  cession,  but  are    of  value  as  authori- 
proving  that  Seleukos  actually  crossed  the  Indus,  waged  an  un-  '-'^^• 
successful  war,  and  was  obliged  to  make  peace  on  conditions 
very   favourable    to    his    adversary,    and    very    unfavourable    to 
himself. 

The  observation  of  Pliny  that  numerous  (plenqne)  authors  -phe  four 
include  in  India  tlie  four  satrapies  of  Gedrosia,  Arachosia,  Aria,  satrapies, 
and  the  Paropanisadae  must  have  been  based  on  the  fact  that  at 
some  period  previous  to  a.  d.  77,  when  his  book  was  published, 
those  four  provinces  were  actually  reckoned  as  part  of  India. 
At  what  time  other  than  the  period  of  the  Maurya  dynasty  is  it 
possible  that  those  provinces  should  have  formed  part  of  India .'' 
Pliny's  information  about  the  country  was  mainly  drawn  from 
the  writings  of  Megasthenes  and  the  other  contemporaries  of 
Alexander,  Chandragupta  and  Seleukos ;  and  the  natural  inter- 
pretation of  his  observation  requires  us  to  believe  that  the  four 
satrapies  in  question  were  '  the  large  part  of  Ariane '  ceded  by 
Seleukos.  Kabul  and  Kandahar  frequently  have  been  held  by 
the  sovereigns  of  India,  and  form  part  of  the  natural  frontier  of 
the  country.  Herat  (Aria)  is  undoubtedly  more  remote,  but 
can  be  held  with  ease  by  the  power  in  possession  of  Kabul 
and  Kandahar. 

The  satrapy  of  Gedrosia  (or  Gadrosia)  extended  far  to  the  Gedrosia. 
west,  and  probably  only  the  eastern  part  of  it  was  annexed  by 
Chandragupta.  The  Malin  range  of  mountains,  which  Alexander 
experienced  such  difficulty  in  crossing,  would  have  furnished 
a  natural  boundary.  Whether  Chandragupta  undertook  the 
administration  of  the  whole  of  Gedrosia  or  not,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  Seleukos  abandoned  to  him  all  control  over  the  province, 
and  that  it  was  included  by  numerous  authors  in  India,  along 
with  Aria,  Arachosia,  and  the  Paropanisadae  ;  because  Seleukos, 
intent  upon  the  urgent  business  of  crushing  Antigonos,  was 
constrained  to  surrender  the  four  outlying  satrapies  named  by 
Pliny,  and  to  concentrate  his  strength  in  Central  and  Western 
Asia. 


APPENDIX   G 

The  Arthasaslra,  or  KautUtya—Sdstra. 

It  is  more  convenient  to  give  the  necessary  information  about  Discovery 
the  Arthasaslra  in  an  Appendix  than  in  cumbrous  footnotes.  of  the  text. 

A  collection  of  maxims  attributed  to  Chanakya,  alias  Kautilya, 
or  Vishnu-gupta,  the  Brahman  minister  of  Chandi'agupta  Mau- 
rya, has  long  been  known  (see  Weber,  Hist.  Indian  Liter. 
(Triibner),  p.  210).     But    the  Arthasastra,  although  mentioned 


152        CHANDRAGUPTA   AND   BINDUSARA 


Trans- 
lation by 
Mr.  R. 
Shama- 
sastrv. 


and  (juoted  by  many  ancient  authors^  had  wholly  disappeared 
from  vicAv  until  Mr.  R.  Shamasastry,  the  learned  Librarian  of  the 
Oriental  Library  maintained  by  the  Maharaja  of  Mysore,  brought 
to  notice  a  manuscript  of  the  work  belonging  to  a  pundit  in  the 
Tanjore  Disti'ict.^  The  ])undit  was  good  enough  to  deposit  the 
MS.  in  the  libiviry,  along  with  an  imperfect  MS.  of  a  connnentary 
on  tlie  treatise  by  Bhattaswami.  The  translation  of  certain 
extracts  published  by  Mr.  Shamasastry  in  the  Indian  Anliqicari/  for 
l.QOr)  attracted  attention,  and  enabled  me  to  make  valuable  ad- 
ditions to  the  second  edition  of  this  history,  published  in  1908. 
Two  other  MSS.  of  the  Sasira  were  then  found  in  the  Miinich 
Library,  and  another  seems  to  exist  in  Calcutta. 

After  the  publication  of  my  second  edition  in  19O8  several  emi- 
nent German  scholars  devoted  much  attention  to  the  study  of 
Chaiiakya's  treatise,  and  Mr.  Shamasastry  was  encouraged  to  com- 
j)]ete  his  rough  translation,  which  he  has  done  in  spite  of  great  diffi- 
culties. He  has  also  j)rinted  an  edition  of  the  text.  He  deserves 
tlie  highest  praise  for  his  disinterested  and  most  valuable 
labours.  Unluckily  his  translation  is  not  accessible  in  a  convenient 
form,  but  it  is  all  in  print,  as  shown  below  : — 

(1)  Introduction  and  extracts  ;  Ind.  Ant.,  vol.  xxxiv  (I9O;)),  pp. 
r>,  47,  1 10,  with  notes  which  are  not  rejiroduced  with  the  revised 
versions,  Nos.  3  and  1  below. 

(2)  Books  i-iv,  Mysore  Review,  I906-8.  Those  tentative 
translations  (Nos.  1  and  2)  are  superseded  b}^  the  revised  complete 
version  published  later,  namely  : — 

(3)  Chdiiakyas  Arthasdstra  or  Science  of  Politics,  translated  by 
R.  Shamasastry,  B.A.  ;  Part  I,  Books  i  and  ii  (1 908,  The  G.  T.  A. 
Press,  Mysore). 

(4)  The  Arthasfistra  of  Chdmihja,  or  Science  of  Politics,  translated 
by  Mr.  R.  Shamasastry,  B.A.,  M.R.A.S.  ;  Part  11,  Hindu  Law, 
Books  iii  and  iv  (Mysore,  cover  printed  at  the  Crown  Press). 

(5)  The  Arthasdstra  of  Chdnahja,  Books  v  xv,  translated  by 
the  same,  as  detailed  below  : — 

Books  v-vii,  Ind.  Ant.,  vol.  xxxviii  (1909),  pp.  257,  277, 
303  ;  Books  vii-xv,  ibid.,  vol.  xxxix  (1910),  pp.  19,  44,  83,  100, 
131,  161. 

My  references  are  to  the  complete  translation  as  printed  in 
Nos.  3,  4,  5. 

I  have  read  and  utilized  the  German  publications  named  below, 
discussions,  wjiich  su))ply  additional  references  : — 

(1)  A.  Hillebrandt,  '  Uber  das  Kautiliya^astra  und  \'erwandtes ' 
(Sondcral).  aus  d.  80.  Jahresbcr.  d.  SvhJrsischen  (ie.ie//sch.  f.  vaterl. 
Cidli/r,  Breslau,  I9O8). 

(2)  Prof  Dr.  Jolly,  Vortrag  (lecture), 'Ein  altindisches  Lehr- 
l)uch   der    Politik  '    (Sonderab.    aus  d.    J'^erhnndlungen  d.   Inierti. 


German 


'  Mr.    Shamasastry     has     been 
transferred  to  Bangalore,  as  Prin- 


cipal of  the  Chamarajendra   San- 
skrit Coik'ge. 


THE  ARTHASASTRA  153 

Fereinigiitig  /'.    verg/eic/i.    Rechtswissenschafi    ii.s.ir.    in   Berlin,  zu 
Heidelberg,  1911,  Berlin). 

(3)  Same  author,  '  Artha^astra  and  Dharma^astra  '  (Z.D.  M.  G., 
1913,  pp.  49-96). 

The  researches  of  the  Gei*man  scholars  have  clearly  established  Maurya 
that  the  Artha^astra  is  a  genuine  ancient  work  [ec/it  und  alt)  of  ^g^  or  tlie 
Maurya  age,  and  presumably  attributed  rightly  to  Chanakya  or 
Kautilya.  That  verdict,  of  course,  does  not  exclude  the  possi- 
bility, or  probability,  that  the  existing  text  may  contain  minor 
interpolations  of  later  date,  but  the  bulk  of  the  book  certainly 
dates  from  the  Maurya  period.  I  have  pointed  out  that  its  con- 
tents describe  the  state  of  things  as  existing  immediately  before 
the  establishment  of  the  Maurya  empire. 

The  treatise  will  continue  to  give  occupation  to  scholars  for 
a  long  time  to  come,  from  many  points  of  view.  The  work  done 
by  Mr.  Shamasastry  is  of  a  pioneer  character,  excellent  as  such, 
but  needing  revision  and  completion. 


CHAPTER   \  I 

ASOKA     MAURYA 

Asoka  as        ACCORDING    to    credible    tradition,    Asoka-vardliana,^    or 

PriiK-e.  Asoka,  us  he  is  generally  called,  served  his  apprenticeship 
to  the  art  of  government  during  the  lifetime  of  his  father, 
Bindusara,  as  viceroy  successively  of  the  North-western 
frontier  province  and  of  Western  India.  He  was  one  of 
se^•eral  sons,  and  was  no  doubt  selected  by  his  father,  in 
accordance  with  the  usual  practice,  as  Yuvaraja,  or  Crown 
Prince,  on  account  of  his  ability  and  fitness  for  the  imperial 
succession. 

Taxila.  Taxila,  the  capital  of  the  north-western  viceroyalty,  which 

probably  included  Kashmir,  the  Panjab,  and  the  provinces 
to  tlie  west  of  the  Indus,  was  in  those  days  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  splendid  of  the  cities  of  the  East,  and 
enjoyed  a  special  reputation  as  the  head-quarters  of  Hindu 
learning.  The  sons  of  people  of  all  the  upper  classes,  chiefs, 
Brahmans,  and  merchants,  flocked  to  Taxila,  as  to  a  univer- 
sity town,  in  order  to  study  the  circle  of  Indian  arts  and 
sciences,  especially  medicine.  The  territory  surrounding  the 
capital  was  rich  and  populous,  and,  two  generations  earlier, 
had  formed  a  small  independent  state,  weak  enough  to  be  in 
terror  of  its  neighbours,  and  yet  strong  enough  to  render 
Alexander  valuable  assistance. 

Taxilan  The   Greeks,   who   considered   the   little   state  to  be  well 

governed,  noted  with  interest,  and  without  disapprobation, 
tlie  local  customs,  which  included  polygamy,  the  exposure  of 
the  dead  to  be  devoured  by  vultures,  and  the  sale  in  open 
markets  of  maidens  who  had  failed  to  secure  husbands  in  the 
ordinary  course.^ 

'  Vishnn^Pardiia.     Asoka  is  the  the  Babylonian  practice  (Herod,  i, 

correct  Sanskrit  form,  but  in  Piili  196).     Exposure  of  the  dead  to  be 

and  some  Sanskrit  MSS.  the  dental  devoured  by  vultures  was,  and  still 

s  is  used.  is,  a  Persian  (Pars!)  custom   Herod. 

''  Strabo,    Bk.    xv,  chh.    28,   0-2.  i,  140  .     It  is  practised  to  this  day 

For    the    marriage-mart,   compare  in  Tibet,  and  was  in  ancient  times 


customs. 


ACCESSION  OF  ASOKA  155 

The  position  of  the  city  on  the  high  road  from   Central  Favoifr- 
Asia  to  the  interior  of  India  fitted  it  to  be  the  capital  of  position  of 
the    north-west    viceroy ;     and    its    strategical    advantages  the  city. 
are   still   recognized.      Hasan   Abdfil,   close  to   its   ruins,   is 
a  favourite  ground  for  the  mananivres  of  the  Indian  army ; 
and   at   Rawalpindi,  a  few  miles  to  the  south-east,  a  huge 
cantonment  guards  the  road  to  India  against  possible  Alex- 
anders advancing  from  the  north-west. 

Ujjain,  the  capital  of  Western  India,  was  equally  famous,  Ujjain. 
and  equally  suitable  as  the  seat  of  a  viceregal  go^'ernment. 
Reckoned  to  be  one  of  the  seven  sacred  cities,  and  standing 
on  the  road  leading  from  the  busy  ports  of  the  western  coast 
to  tlie  markets  of  the  interior,  it  combined  the  advantages  of 
a  favourite  place  of  pilgrimage  with  those  of  a  great  com- 
mercial depot.  The  city  Avas  recognized  as  the  head -quarters 
of  Indian  astronomy,  and  longitudes  were  computed  from  its 
meridian.^ 

The  Ceylonese  tradition  that  Asoka  was  residing  at  Ujjain  Asoka's 
when  he  was  summoned  to  the  capital  by  the  news  of  his  accession, 
father's  mortal  illness  may  ^vell  be  believed  ;  although  no 
credence  can  be  given  to  the  tales  M'hich  relate  that  Asoka 
had  a  hundred  brothers,  ninety-nine  of  wliom  he  slew,  and  so 
forth.  These  idle  stories  seem  to  have  been  invented  by  the 
monks  chiefly  in  order  to  place  a  dark  background  of  early 
wickedness  behind  the  bright  picture  of  his  mature  piety. 
Asoka  certainly  had  brothers  and  sisters  alive  in  the 
seventeenth  or  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign,^  whose  households 
were  objects  of  his  anxious  care ;  and  there  is  nothing  to 
indicate  that  he  regarded  his  relatives  with  jealousy.  His 
grandfather,  Chandragupta,  ^a  man  of  blood  and  iron,^  who 
had  fought  his  way  from  poverty  and  exile  to  the  imperial 
throne,  naturally  was  beset  by  jealousies  and  hatreds,  and 
constrained  to  live  a  life  of  distrustful  suspicion.  But  Asoka, 
who  was  born  in  the  purple,  and  inlierited  an  empire  firmly 

the   usage   of  the   Lichchhavis  of  in  Yule  and  Burnell,   Glossary  of 

Vaisali,  who  appear  to  have  been  Anglo-Indian  Words. 
either  Tibetans  or  a  cognate  people  ^  '  Fourteenth   year  \   according 

{Ind.  Ant.,  1903,  p.  233).  to  the  inscriptions,  reckoning  from 

'  See  the  curious  article  '  Oojyne'  the  coronation. 


156 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


273  or 
272  B.  c. 
Acces- 
sion ; 
269  B.  c. 
Corona- 
tion. 


261  B.C. 
Kalinga 


established  by  half  a  century  of  masterful  rule  for  two  genera- 
tions, presumably  was  free  from  the  ^ black  care'  which 
haunted  his  ancestor.  His  edicts  display  no  sense  of  inse- 
curity or  weakness  from  first  to  last ;  and  the  probability 
is  tliat  he  succeeded  peaceably  in  accordance  with  his 
predecessor's  nomination.  It  is,  however,  possible  that  the 
northern  tradition  which  testifies  to  a  contest  for  the  suc- 
cession between  Asoka  and  Susima,  his  eldest  brother,  may 
be  founded  on  fact.  It  has  more  historical  appearance  than 
the  stories  told  by  the  monks  of  Ceylon.^ 

Inasmuch  as  the  reign  of  Asoka  lasted  for  fully  forty 
years,  he  must  have  been  a  young  man  when,  in  or  al)out  the 
year  273  b.c,  he  undertook  the  government  of  the  vast 
empire  which  had  been  won  and  kept  by  his  grandfather  and 
father.  Nothing  is  recorded  concerning  the  first  eleven  or 
twelve  years  of  his  rule,  which  presumably  were  spent  in  the 
current  work  of  administration.  His  solemn  coronation  did 
not  take  place  before  the  year  269  b.c,  about  four  years 
after  his  accession,  and  this  fact  is  almost  the  only  circum- 
stance which  supports  the  notion  that  his  succession  was 
disputed.  The  anniversary  of  his  coronation  was  always 
celebrated  with  ceremony,  and  specially  marked  by  the 
pardon  and  release  of  prisoners.^ 

In  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign,  or  in  the  ninth,  as 
reckoned  from  the  coronation,  Asoka  end)arked  upon  the 
one  aggressive  war  of  his  life  of  which  a  record  exists,  and 
rounded  off  his  dominions  by  the  conquest  of  the  kingdom  of 
Kalinga,  the  strip  of  territory  extending  along  the  coast 
of  the  Bay  of  Bengal  from  the  Mahanadi  to  the  Godavari. 
The  campaign  was  wholly  successful,  and  Kalinga  became 
an  integral  part  of  the  Maurya  dominions.  Two  special 
edicts  published  a  few  years  later  show  that  the  administra- 
tion of  the  newly  acquired  territory  caused  much  anxiety 
to  the  emperor,  uho,  like  all  sovereigns,  sometimes  was  not 


'  Asoka,  2nd  ed.,  p. 223. 

'  For  the  chronology  see  my 
book,  Asoha,  Hip  Buddhist  Emperor 
of  India  Clarendon  Press,  2nd  ed., 
1909) ;  which  also  gives  a  summary 


of  the  legends,  and  a  complete 
translation  of  the  inscriptions, 
which  now  requires  revision  in 
some  particulars.  The  dates  may 
be  a  year  or  two  out,  but  not  more. 


WAR  WITH  KALINGA  167 

well  served  by  his  officers.  The  ro3^al  instructions,  which 
enjoined  just  and  paternal  government,  and  specially  insisted 
on  sympathetic  tactful  treatment  of  the  wilder  tribes,  were 
disregarded  at  times  by  officials,  who  had  to  be  warned  that 
disobedience  of  orders  was  not  the  way  to  win  the  favour 
of  either  heaven  or  their  master. 

The  kingdom  of  Kalinga  had  maintained  a  considerable  Misery 
military  force,  which  was  estimated  by  Megasthenes  as  num-  fu  "^  ^ 
bering  60,000  infantry,  1,000  cavalrj-,  and  700  war  elephants. 
The  opposition  offered  to  the  invaders  was  so  stubborn  that 
the  conquest  involved  immeasurable  suffering.  The  victor 
records  with  sorrow  tliat  150,000  persons  were  carried  into 
capti\ity,  100,000  were  slain,  and  that  many  times  that 
number  perished  from  famine,  pestilence,  and  the  other 
calamities  ^^•llich  follow  in  the  train  of  armies. 

The  sight  of  all  this  misery  and  the  knowledge  that  he  The 
alone  had  caused  it  smote  the  conscience  of  Asoka,  and  of'As^oka 
awakened  in  his  breast  feelings  of  '  remorse,  profound  sorrow, 
and  regret'.  These  feelings  crystallized  into  a  steadfast  resolve 
that  ne\er  again  should  ambition  lead  him  to  inflict  such 
grievous  wrongs  upon  his  fellow  creatures;  and  four  years 
after  the  conquest  he  was  able  to  declare  that  '^  the  loss  of  even 
the  hundredth  or  the  thousandth  part  of  the  persons  who  were 
then  slain,  carried  away  captive,  or  done  to  death  in  Kalinga 
would  now  be  a  matter  of  deep  regret  to  his  Majesty '. 

The  king  acted  up  to  the  principles  which  he  professed,  Asoka 
and  abstained  from  aggressive  war  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  foi"swears 
About  this  time  he  came  under  the  influence  of  Buddhist 
teaching,  his  devotion  to  which  increased  more  and  more  as 
the  years  rolled  on.     The  '  chiefest  conquest ',  lie  declares,  is 
that  won  by  the  Law  of  Piety,  and  he  begs  his  descendants 
to   rid   themselves  of  the  popular   notion  that  conquest  by 
arms  is   the   duty  of   kings;    and,  even  if  they  should  find 
themselves  engaged  in  warfare,  he  reminds  them  that  they 
might  still  find  pleasure  in   patience   and   gentleness,    and 
should    regard    as    the   only    true    conquest   that    which    is 
effected  through  the  Law  of  Piety,  or  Duty.^ 
'  Rock  Edict  XIII. 


158 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


Moral 
propa- 
ganda. 


257,  2o6 

H.  C. 


About 
949  n.  c. 
Pilgrim- 
age. 


Asoka  from  tliis  time  forth  made  it  the  business  of  his 
life  to  employ  his  unlimited  autocratic  power  over  a  vast 
empire  in  the  teaching,  propagation,  and  enforcement  of  the 
ethical  system,  which  he  called  the  Law  of  Piety  or  Duty 
{dhamma  or  dharma),  and  had  learned  chiefly  from  his 
Buddhist  instructors. 

In  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  years  of  his  reign  he 
decided  definitely  upon  his  line  of  action,  and  proclaimed 
the  principles  of  his  government  to  his  people  in  a  series  of 
edicts  engraved  upon  the  rocks,  including  Minor  Rock  Edict  I 
and  the  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts,  and  laying  down  the  general 
rules  which  must  guide  the  conduct  of  the  lieges. 

These  extraordinary  documents  were  followed  by  others 
specially  concerning  the  conquered  province  of  Kalinga,  the 
purport  of  which  has  been  referred  to  above.  The  earliest 
of  the  whole  series  seems  to  be  Minor  Rock  Edict  I,  a  short 
document,  known  in  six  slightly  variant  forms.  From  it,  as 
read  with  the  longer  compositions,  we  learn  that  Asoka 
was  a  lay  disciple  {updsaka)  for  more  than  two  and  a  half 
years  after  his  conversion  to  Buddhism,  and  that  during  that 
period  he  did  not  exert  himself  strenuously.^  But  more  than 
a  year  before  the  issue  of  his  proclamations  he  had  joined 
the  Monastic  Order  {samgha)  and  had  begun  to  devote 
earnest  effort  to  promoting  the  cause  of  religion.  The 
peculiar  edict,  known  as  the  Bhabru  or  Second  Bairat  Rock 
Edict,  in  which  the  king  enumerates  seven  passages  of  the 
scriptures  as  specially  meriting  the  attention  of  both  the 
clergy  and  the  laity,  apparently  belongs  to  the  same  time.^ 

In  the  year  249  B.C.,  when  he  had  occupied  the  throne  for 
about  twenty-four  years,  Asoka  made  a  solemn  pilgrimage 
to  the  most  sacred  spots  in  the  Buddhist  Holy  Land. 
Starting  from    Pataliputra,  the  capital,  he  ad\anced   north- 

^mlnents. 


^  Compare  the  case  of  the  king 
of  Satnatata  (Deltaic  Bengal^,  in 
the  seventh  century  : — 

'  Le  roi  de  cet  (5tat  s'appclait  Ho- 
lotuj-ch^.^po-tch'a  (Harshabhata~;i  [?  1 ; 
ce  souverain  se  trouvait  etre  un 
fervent  adorateur  des  trois  Joyaux 
'triratnai  et  il  jouait  le  role  de 
grand    ou-po-sono-kia      oupasaka) ' 


(Chavannes,     Relu/ieiuc 
p.  V28\ 

*  Bhabru,  not  Bhabra,  is  correct. 
The  inscription  comes  from  one  of 
the  Bairat  hills,  distant  about  1-2 
miles  from  the  camping-ground  at 
Biiabru  {Pirx/.  Rep.  A.  »S'.,  IT.  Circle, 
1  !){)<)  10,  para.  10;. 


PILGRIMAGE  159 

wards  along  the  royal  road  to  Nepal,  the  course  of  which  is 
marked  b}^  five  great  monolithic  pillars,^  through  the  districts 
now  known  as  Muzaffarpur  and  Champaran,  until  he  ap- 
proached the  base  of  the  outer  Himalayan  range. 

Probably  he  then  turned  westwards,  without  crossing  the  Birth- 
hills,  and  first  visited  the  famous  Lumbini  Garden — the  guddha. 
Bethlehem  of  Buddhism — where,  according  to  the  legend, 
the  pains  of  travail  came  upon  Maya,  and  she  gave  birth  to 
Buddha  as  she  stood  under  a  tree.  At  this  spot  his  guide 
and  preceptor,  Upagupta,  addressed  Asoka  and  said :  '  Here^ 
great  king  !  was  the  Venerable  One  born.'  A  pillar  inscribed 
with  these  words,  still  as  legible  as  when  they  were  incised, 
was  set  up  by  Asoka  to  preserve  the  memory  of  his  visit, 
and  stands  to  this  day.^ 

In  due  course  Saint  Upagupta  led  his  royal  disciple  to  other 

Kapilavastu,  the  home  of  Buddha's  childhood,  now  in  the    ,  ^^ 
^  .  places. 

Tarai;^  to  Sarnath,  near  Benares,  the  scene  of  the  Master's 
first  success  as  a  preacher;  to  Sravasti,  where  he  lived  for 
many  years ;  ^  to  the  Bodhi  tree  of  Gaya,  where  he  overcame 
the  powers  of  darkness ;  and  to  Kusinagara,  where  he  died.' 

'  Bakhira  ;   Lauriya-Araraj  (Ra-  ^  In  Nepal,  beyond  the  first  range 

dhiah   ;  Lauriya-Nandangarh  ;Ma-  of  hills  (J.  it*.  A.  S.,  Jan.,  1902), 

thiah)  ;  Rampurwa  (2).  as   I   still   think.     H.  H.  General 

^  The  latest  revised  translation  is  Khadga   Shamsher  Jang  Bahadur 

given   in   Asoka,  2nd   ed.,  p.   199,  agrees  with  me  in  placing  Ku^ina- 

with  a  facsimile  of  the  text.  gara  in  Nepal,  and  believes  the  site 

^  Probably  Piprawa  in  the  north  to  be  at  the  junction  of  the  Little, 

of  the  BastT  district,  on  the  frontier  or  Eastern,  Rapt!  (^Achiravati)  with 

(Mukherji   and   V.  A.  Smith,  E.c-  the    Gandak    (Hiranyavati).     His 

plorations  hi  the   Nepalese    Tardi,  position  is  farther  west  than  that 

Arch.  Survey,  Imp.  Ser.,  vol.  xxvi,  which  I  had  selected,  but  almost  in 

Calcutta,  1897).     The  Kapilavastu  the  same  latitude,  and  is  very  likely 

of  Hiiien  Tsmu/  is  certainly  repre-  to  be  correct  {Pioneer  Mail,  Allah- 

sented  by  Tilaura  Kot  and  neigh-  abad,    Feb.    26,   1904).      The   dis- 

bouring    ruins,    in    the    Nepalese  covery   in   the  large  stiipa  behind 

Tarai,  about  10  miles  to  the  NW.  the  Nirvana  temple  near  Kasia  of 

of  Piprawa.  an  inscribed  copper  plate  bearing 

*  On  upper  course  of  the  RaptT,  the     words     [parini']rvdna-chaitye 

perhaps    Saheth-Maheth     on     the  tumra-patia  iti    has    revived    and 

boundary  of  the  Gonda  and  Bah-  supported  the  old  theory  that  the 

raich    Districts.     Inscriptions    dis-  rem_ains  near  Kasia  in  the  east  of 

covered     by     the     Archaeological  the  Gorakhpur   District   represent 

Dept.    seem    to   identify   the   site  Kusinagara  (Pargiter,  J.  R.  A.  S., 

{Annual Rep.  A.  S.,  1908-9,  p.  137).  1913,  p.  152). 

The  difficulty  is  that  the  site  does  But    grave    objections    to    that 

not  suit  the   indications  given   by  theory  exist,  and  the  probability  is 

the  Chinese  pilgrims  (see ./.  R.A.  S. ,  that  the  establishment  near  Kasia, 

1900,  pp.  1-24).  which  appears  to   have  been  sub- 


160  ASOKA   MAURYA 

At  all  these  holy  places  the  king  granted  liberal  endowments, 
and  set  up  memorials,  some  of  which  have  come  to  light  in 
these  latter  days,  after  long  ages  of  oblivion. 
Asokawas  Although  a  modern  student  may  feel  difficulty  in  believing 
monarch,  that  Asoka  could  have  assumed  monastic  vows  and  robe  while 
still  exercising  autocratic  control  o^•er  a  \ast  empire,  there  is 
no  doubt  about  the  fact,  wliicli  he  clearly  asserts.  Nine 
centuries  later  the  Chinese  pilgrim  I-tsing  noted  that  the 
image  of  Asoka  was  clothed  in  a  monk's  garment  of  a  par- 
ticular pattern.^  The  incongruity  involved  according  to  our 
notions  in  an  emperor  turning  monk,  without  abdicating,  did 
not  strike  I-tsing,  who  was  familiar  with  the  exactly  similar 
case  in  his  own  country  of  the  Emperor  Wu-ti  or  Hsiao  Yen, 
the  first  of  the  Liang  dynasty,  who  was  a  devout  Buddhist, 
and  adopted  the  monastic  garb  on  two  occasions,  in  a.d.  527 
and  529.^  A  less  exact  parallel  is  supplied  by  the  story  of 
a  Jain  king  of  Western  India  in  the  twelfth  century,  who 
assumed  the  title  of  '  Lord  of  the  Order ',  and  at  various 
periods  of  his  reign  bound  himself  by  vows  of  continence  and 
abstinence."^  A  Buddhist  monk  is  always  at  liberty  to  return 
to  lay  life,  and  it  is  probable  that  Asoka  retired  to  a  monastery 
from  time  to  time  for  a  short  period,  making  suitable  arrange- 
ments for  carrying  on  the  administration  during  his  retreat. 
There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  Minor  Rock  Edict  I  and 
the  Bhabra  Edict  were  issued  while  the  emperor  was  thus  in 
retreat  at  Bairat.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  an  all- 
powerful  monarch  could  have  arranged  the  apparent  difficulty 
to  his  satisfaction  in  more  ways  than  one.  Asoka  distinctly 
adopted  tlie  position  of  ruler  of  both  church  and  state  during 
the  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life,  just  as  Charlemagne  did 
long  afterwards  in  Europe. 
Retro-  In  or  about  the  year  243  B.C.,  when  he  had  been  on  the 

sped  in      throne  for  some  thirty  years,  Asoka  began  the  composition 

ordinate   to   the  monastery  of  the  '  Takakusu,  transl.    of   I-tsing, 

Decease   at    Ku^inagara,  was   also  A    Record   of  Bnddhisf  J'rarflces, 

known    as    a    parijiirvdija-chalh/a.  p.  73. 

See    my    article   on  Kusinagara  in  -  Giles,  Jlisf.  Chinese  Liter.,  1901, 

Hastings,  h',iri/r[.  of  Religion  and  p.  133;  Jnd.Anf.,  1903,  p.  236. 
Ethics.              '                    '  3  Biihler,  Ind.  Ant.,  vi,  1.54. 


ASOKA'S  COUNCIL  161 

of  ;i  fresh  series  of  documents,  the  Seven  Pillar  Edicts,  which  the  Seven 
reiterate  his  earlier  teaching  and  conclude  with  a  formal  retro-  Edicts 
spect  of  the  measures  adopted  by  him  in  furtherance  of  the 
ethical  reforms  which  he  had  at  heart.  They  also  include 
a  concise  code  of  regulations  concerning  the  slaughter  and 
mutilation  of  animals,  practices  which  he  regarded  with  abhor- 
rence. 

The  retrospect,  strange  to  say,  takes  no  notice  of  the  foreign 
missions.  Nor  does  it  mention  the  Council  of  Buddhist 
elders,  which  was  held  at  the  capital  at  some  time  in  his 
reign  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  schism  in  the 
church.  It  seems  likely  that  the  Council  may  have  been 
convoked  after  the  publication  of  the  Pillar  Edicts,  but  I 
cannot  explain  the  failure  to  commemorate  the  foreign  mis- 
sions which  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  the  Rock  Edicts. 

The  fact  of  the  convocation  of  a  Council  is  attested  by  The  Coun- 
such  a  large  body  of  tradition  that  it  may  be  accepted  without  p^-?\- 
hesitation,  even  though  none  of  the  alleged  details  can  be  putra. 
regarded  as  historical.    The  Sarnath  Edict  (with  its  variants), 
which  was   specially  directed  against   the    cardinal   sin   of 
schism,  was  issued,  I  think,  as  a  result  of   the   Council^s 
proceedings.     I  do  not  accept  the  Ceylonese  date  for  the 
Council,    namely,    236    a.b,,    equivalent,    according   to    my 
chronology,  to  251  b.  c,  and  am  of  opinion  that  the  Council 
assembled  at  some  time  in  the  last  ten  years  of  the  reign.^ 

The  extent  of  the  enormous  empire  governed  by  Asoka  Extent  of 
can  be  ascertained  with  approximate  accuracy.  On  the  ^'"P^'"^- 
north-west,  it  extended  to  the  Hindu  Kush  mountains,  and 
included  most  of  the  territory  now  under  the  rule  of  the 
King  of  Afghanistan,  as  well  as  the  whole,  or  a  large  part, 
of  Baluchistan,  and  all  Sind.  The  secluded  valleys  of  Suwat 
(Swat)  and  Bajaur  probably  were  more  or  less  thoroughly 
controlled  by  the  imperial  officers,  and  the  valleys  of  Kashmir 
and  Nepal  certainly  were  integral  parts  of  the  empire.    Asoka 

^  For  the  references  concerning  Ceylonese  chronology  in  footnotes, 

each  class  of  the  Edicts,  see  Biblio-  See  ray  observations  on  the  Bud- 

graphy  at  the  end  of  this  chapter.  dhist  Councils  in  J.  R.  A.  S.,  1901, 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  discuss  pp.  I+2-,>8. 
the  credibility  of  the  dates  in  the 

1626  M 


162 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


Asoka  in 
Nepal. 


Extent 
eastward, 


built  a  new  capital  in  the  vale  of  Kashmir,  named  Srinagar, 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  city  which  now  bears  that 
name.^ 

In  the  Nepal  valley,  he  replaced  the  older  capital  Manju 
Patan,  by  a  city  named  Patan,  Lalita  Patan,  or  Lalitpur, 
which  still  exists,  2^  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Kathmandii, 
the  modern  capital.  Lalita  Patan,  which  subsequently 
became  the  seat  of  a  separate  principality,  retains  the 
special  Buddhist  stamp  impressed  upon  it  by  Asoka.  His 
foundation  of  the  city  was  undertaken  as  a  memorial  of  the 
visit  which  he  paid  to  Nepal,  in  250  or  249  B.C.,  when  he 
undertook  the  tour  of  the  holy  places.  He  was  accompanied 
by  his  daughter  Charumati,  who  adopted  a  religious  life,  and 
remained  in  Nepal  when  her  imperial  father  returned  to  the 
plains.  She  founded  a  town  called  Devapatana,  in  memory 
of  her  husband  Devapala  Kshatriya,  and  settled  down  to 
the  life  of  a  nun  at  a  convent  built  by  her  to  the  north  of 
Pasupatinath,  which  bears  her  name  to  this  day.  Asoka 
treated  Lalita  Patau  as  a  place  of  great  sanctity,  erecting 
in  it  five  great  stiipas ;  one  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and 
four  others  outside  the  walls  at  the  cardinal  points.  All  these 
monuments  still  exist,  and  differ  conspicuously  from  more 
recent  edifices.  Some  minor  buildings  are  also  attributed  to 
Asoka  or  his  daughter.^ 

Eastwards,  the  empire  comprised  the  whole  of  Bengal 
(Vanga)  as  far  as  the  mouths  of  the  Ganges,  where  Tam- 
ralipti,  the  modern  Tamluk,  was  the  principal  port.  The 
strip  of  coast  to  the  north  of  the  Godavari  river,  known  as 
Kalinga,  was  annexed  in  261  b.  c.  Farther  south,  the 
Andhra  kingdom,  between   the  Godavari  and  the   Krishna 


^  Stein,  Rfi jntaranginl,  transl., 
Bk.  I,  V.  104; "vol.  ii,  pp.  409,  411. 
The  position  of  Asoka's  capital 
is  marked  by  the  site  known  as 
Pandrethan,  '  Old  Town,'  situated 
about  3  miles  above  modern  Srlna- 
gar,  to  which  the  ancient  name 
has  been  transferred. 

•^  Oldfield,  Sketches  from  Nipal, 
ii,  198,  246-52;  Ind.  Ant.  xiii, 
419.     The  northern  stupa  at  Patan 


is  called  Ipi  Tuda  by  Mr.  Bendall 
{A  Jonrneii  in  Nepal,  p.  12).  Old- 
field  writes  the  name  Epi,  or  Zimpi 
Tandu,  and  the  Residency  clerk 
writes  it  Impi.  Zimpi  Taudu 
appears  to  be  correct  (L^vi,  Le 
X(pal,  vol.  i,  pp.  263,  331  ; 
ii,  pp.  1-3,  344).  This  building, 
although  now  inside  the  town, 
is  outside  the  old  line  of  walls. 


T:^'vrmT:^TVTa-<    /~vi:i    "T'Ti.f  t>tt>  tti 


BAY 


O    F 


N       O       ^ 


THE    EMPIRE 

of 

AS  OKA 

250    B.C. 

Scale  of  Miles 

zoo  300 


Rock  Edicts A 

Minor  Rock  Edicts  .X 
Filter  Edicts X 

Kingdom -  -  K. 


/. 


»V«a«i.JK-<_o.(„<  .1,^ 


EXTENT  OF  EMPIRE  163 

(Kistiia),  appears  to  have  been  treated  as  a  protected 
state,  administered  by  its  own  Rajas.  On  the  south-east, 
the  N.  Pennar  river  may  be  regarded  as  the  limit  of  the 
imperial  jurisdiction. 

The   Tamil   states   extending   to   the    extremity    of    the  Extent 

f  I 

Peninsula,  and  known  as  the  Ciiola  and  Pandya  king-  ^^rd. 
doms,  certainly  were  independent,  as  were  the  Keralaputra 
and  Satiyaputra  states  on  the  south-western,  or  Malabar 
coast.^  The  southern  frontier  of  the  empire  may  be 
described  approximately  as  a  line  drawn  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Pennar  river  near  Nellore  on  the  eastern  coast 
through  Cuddapah  and  to  the  south  of  Chitaldroog  (N.  lat. 
U°  13',  E.  long.  '76°  24')  to  the  river  Kalyanapuri  on  the 
western  coast  (about  N.  lat.  14°),  which  forms  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  Tuluva  country,  probably  representing  the 
old  kingdom  of  Satiyaputra.^ 

The  wilder  tribes  on  the  north-western  frontier  and  in  the  Jungle 
jungle  tracts  of  the  Vindhya  mountains  separating  Northern  *""^^' 
from  Southern  India  seem  to  have  enjoyed  a  limited  autonomy 
under  the  suzerainty  of  the  paramount  power.  The  empire 
comprised  therefore,  in  modern  terminology,  Afghanistan 
south  of  the  Hindu  Kush,  Baluchistan,  Sind,  the  valley  of 
Kashmir,  Nepal,  the  lower  Himalaya,  and  the  whole  of  India 
Proper,  except  the  southern  extremity. 

The  central  regions  seem  to  have  been  governed  directly  Viceroys, 
from  Pataliputra  under  the  king's  personal  supervision.    The 
outlying  provinces  were  administered  by  viceroys,  of  whom, 
apparently,  there  were  at  least  four.     The  ruler  of  the  north- 

1  Rock  Edicts  II,  XIII.  Poona  District  still  bear  the  name 
"  I  cannot  agree  with  Dr.  Fleet  SCdpute.  But  the  edict  groups  the 
{J.R.A.S.,  1909,  p.  997  n.)  that  Satiyaputras  with  the  Tamil  powers. 
Minor  Rock  Edict  II,  of  which  and  the  position  which  I  have  as- 
three  texts  exist  in  N.  Mysore,  was  signed  to  them  is  demarcated  by 
addressed  to  a  foreign  power.  an  existing  ethnic  and  linguistic 
Rock  Edict  II  clearly  states  that  frontier.  I  still  believe  that  the 
the  neighbouring  or  frontier  states  Maurya  empire,  including  both 
included  the  Cholas,  Pan dyas,Kera-  territories  directly  administered 
laputra,  and  Satiyaputra.  Prof.  and  regions  attached  only  by  an 
R.  G.  Bhandarkar  {Indian  Revie2i-\  ill-defined  protectorate,  extended 
June,  1909)  would  place  the  Satiya-  to  the  south  until  it  impinged  on 
putra  state  near  Poona,  because  the  frontiers  of  the  ancient,  well- 
families   of   several   castes    in   the  established  Tamil  kingdoms. 

M  2 


164  ASOKA  MAURYA 

west  was  stationed  at  Taxila,  and  his  jurisdiction  may  be  as- 
sumed to  liave  included  the  Punjab^  Sind,  tlie  countries  beyond 
the  Indus_,  and  Kashmir.  The  eastern  territories,  including 
tlie  conquered  kingdom  of  Kalinga,  were  governed  by  a  viceroy 
stationed  at  Tosali,  the  exact  position  of  wliich  has  not  been 
ascertained.  The  western  provinces  of  Malwa,  Gujarat,  and 
Kathiawar  were  under  the  government  of  a  prince,  whose 
head-quarters  were  at  the  ancient  city  of  Ujjain ;  and  the 
southern  provinces,  beyond  the  Narbada,  were  ruled  by  the 
fourth  viceroy.^ 
Buildings.  Asoka  was  a  great  builder ;  and  so  deep  was  the  impression 
made  on  the  popular  imagination  by  the  extent  and  magnifi- 
cence of  liis  architectural  works  that  legend  credited  him 
with  the  erection  of  eighty-four  thousand  stupas,  or  sacred 
cupolas,  within  the  space  of  three  years.  When  Fa-hien,  the 
first  Chinese  pilgrim,  visited  Pataliputra,  the  capital,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century  in  the  reign  of  Chandragupta 
Yikramaditya,  the  palace  of  Asoka  was  still  standing,  and 
Mas  deemed  to  have  been  wrought  by  supernatural  agency. 

*  The  royal  palace  and  halls  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  which 
exist  now  as  of  old,  were  all  made  by  the  spirits  which  he 
employed,  and  which  piled  up  the  stones,  reared  the  walls 
and  gates,  and  executed  the  elegant  carving  and  inlaid  sculp- 
ture work,  in  a  way  which  no  human  hands  of  this  world 
could  accomplish.' 

These  stately  buildings  have  all  Aanished, and  their  remains 
lie  buried  for  the  most  part  beyond  hope  of  recovery  deep 
below  the  silt  of  the  Ganges  and  Son  rivers,  overlaid  by  the 
East  India  Railway,  the  citj^  of  Patna,  and  the  civil  station 


^  The  Mysore  versions  of  Minor  somewhere  in  the  south,  and  that 

Kock  Edict  I  convey  the  commands  the   Prince   was   Asoka's    Viceroy 

of  Asoka  to  the  officials  of  a  town  of  the  Deccan.     Dr.  Fleet  guesses 

named  Isila,  probably  represented  that  Suvarnagiri  should  be  identi- 

by  an  ancient  site  near  the  places  fied  with  Songir  at  Old  Rajgir  in 

wheretheinscriptionsexist, through  Magadha,  and  on   that  basis   ela- 

the  Prince  and  officials  of  Suvarna-  borates  a  theory  that  Asoka  was 

giri— that  is  to  say,  the  commands  living   in   retirement  at  that  place 

received   from   Asoka  were  issued  (J.  11.  A.  S.,  I'M)!),  pp.  981-1016). 

from  Suvarnagiri  by  the  Prince  and  I   cannot   find   any  evidence   that 

high  officers  residing  there.     I  un-  Asoka  abdicated, 
derstand     that     Suvarnagiri     was 


MONUMENTS  165 

of  Bankipore.  Slight  and  desultory  excavations  have  re- 
vealed enough  to  attest  the  substantial  truth  of  the  pilgrim's 
enthusiastic  description,  and  I  myself  have  seen  two  huge 
and  finely  carved  sandstone  capitals — one  with  the  acanthus- 
leaf  ornament — dug  up  near  Bankipore. 

The  numerous  and  magnificent  monasteries  founded  by 
Asoka  have  shared  tiie  fate  of  his  palaces^  and  are  ruined 
beyond  recognition. 

The  only  buildings  of  the  Asokan  period  which  have  Safichi 
escaped  destruction,  and  remain  in  a  state  of  tolerable  *  "^^"''' 
preservation,  are  those  forming  the  celebrated  group  of 
stupas,  or  cupolas,  at  and  near  Sanchi,  in  Central  India, 
not  very  far  from  Ujjain,  where  Asoka  held  court  as 
viceroy  of  the  west  before  his  accession  to  the  throne. 
The  elaborately  carved  gateways  of  the  railing  round 
the  principal  monument,  which  have  been  so  often  described 
and  figured,  may  have  been  constructed  to  the  order  of 
the  great  Maurya,  and  certainly  are  not  much  later  than 
his  time. 

The  massive  monolithic  sandstone  pillars,  inscribed  and  un-  Mono- 
inscribed,  which  Asoka  erected  in  large  numbers  throughout  pjHarg. 
the  home  provinces  of  the  empire,  some  of  which  are  50  feet 
in  height,  and  about  50  tons  in  weight,  are  not  only  worthy 
monuments  of  his  magnificence,  but  also  of  the  highest 
interest  as  the  earliest  known  examples  of  the  Indian  stone- 
cutter's art  in  architectural  forms.  The  design  is  a  highly 
improved  adaptation  of  a  Persian  model,  and  the  mechanical 
execution  is  perfect.^ 

The  caves  with  highly  polished  walls   excavated   in   the  Cave- 
intensely  hard  quartzose  gneiss  of   the  Barabar  hills  near 
Gaya  by  order  of  Asoka,  for  the  use  of  the  Ajivika  ascetics, 
an  extremely  ancient  penitential  order  distinct  from  both  tiie 


1  See  ^.stiZfrt,  2nd  ed.,  pp.  116-8;  'extraordinary  precision   and    ac- 

A  History  of  Fine  Art  in  India  and  curacy     which     characterizes     all 

C«yo/i,  pp.  20, 59-62,  Pis.  II,  XIII,  Maurya    work,    and     which     has 

and  Figs.  28,  29  ;   and  '  The  Mono-  never,   we   venture    to    say,   been 

lithic  Pillars  or  Columns  of  Asoka,'  surpassed  even  by  the  finest  work- 

Z.i).  ilf.  G.,  1911,  pp.  221-40.    Dr.  manship    on   Athenian    buildings' 

J.    H.    Marshall    speaks     of    the  {Annual  Rep.  A.  S.  1906-7,  p.  89). 


166 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


Script. 


Jains  and  the  Buddhists,  recall  Egyptian  work  by  the  mastery 
displayed  over  intractable  material.^ 

The  most  interesting  monuments  of  Asoka  are  his  famous 
inscriptions^  more  than  thirty  in  number,  incised  upon  rocks, 
boulders,  cave-walls,  and  pillars,  which  supply  the  only  safe 
foundation  for  the  history  of  his  reign,  and  must  be  briefly 
described  before  I  can  enter  upon  the  discussion  of  his 
doctrine  and  policy.  The  more  important  documents,  which 
expound  fully  both  his  principles  of  government  and  his 
system  of  practical  ethics,  supply  many  interesting  autobio- 
graphical details.  The  shorter  documents  include  dedications, 
brief  commemorative  records,  and  other  matter ;  but  all,  even 
the  most  concise,  have  interest  and  value. ^ 

The  area  covered  by  the  inscriptions  comprises  nearly  the 
.  whole  of  India  (see  map),  extending  from  the  Himalayas  to 
Mysore,  and  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  the  Arabian  Sea. 

All  the  documents  are  written  in  various  forms  of  Prakrit, 
that  is  to  say,  A'ernacular  dialects  closely  allied  to  both 
literary  Sanskrit  and  the  Pjili  of  the  Ceylonese  Buddhist 
books,  but  not  identical  with  either.  They  were  therefore 
obviously  intended  to  be  read  and  understood  by  the  public 
generally,  and  their  existence  presupposes  a  Avidely  diffused 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  writing.  The  inscriptions  designed 
for  public  instruction  were  placed  either  in  suitable  positions 
on  high  roads  or  at  frequented  places  of  pilgrimage  where 
their  contents  were  ensured  the  greatest  possible  publicity. 

Two  recensions  of  the  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts,  inscribed  on 
rocks  at  places  near  the  north-western  frontier  of  India,  were 
executed  in  the  script  locally  current,  now  generally  known 
to  scholars  as  the  Kharoshthi ;  which  is  a  modified  form  of 
an   ancient  Aramaic   alphabet,   written   from   right  to    left. 


'  The  Ajlvikas  were  not  Vaish- 
navas,  as  generally  asserted  (Bhan- 
darkar,  '  Epigraphic  Notes  and 
Questions,'  in  J.  Bo.  li.  A.  S., 
vol.  XX,  1902;  and  J))d.  Avf.,  1912, 
])p.  90,  i?8(i ).  See  also  the  summary 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  sect  in  the 
tidmannaphala  Sutta,  transl.  by 
Khys  Davids,  JJialoguen  of  the  Bud- 
dha (1899,  p.  71). 


*  Although  the  inscriptions  are 
anonymous  {Ind.  Ant.,  1903,  p. 
26j),  their  attribution  to  Asoka  is 
certain.  The  detailed  proof  is 
given  in  my  articles,  *  The  Author- 
ship of  the  Piyadasi  Inscriptions  ', 
and  '  The  Identity  of  Piyadasi  with 
Asoka  Maurya,&c.'(J.i?.^.  5^.,  1901, 
pp.  481-99,  827-42). 


INSCRIPTIONS  167 

introduced  into  the  Panjab  during  the  period  of  Persian 
domination  in  the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries  B.C.  All  the 
other  inscriptions  are  incised  in  one  or  other  variety  of  the 
early  Brahnil  alphabet^  from  which  the  Devanagari  and 
other  forms  of  the  modern  script  in  Northern  and  Western 
India  have  been  evohed,  and  which  is  read  from  left  to 
right.^ 

The  inscriptions  readily  fall  into  eight  classes^  which  may  Eight 
be  arranged  in  approximate  chronological  order  as  follows  : — 

I.  The  Minor  Rock  Edicts,  of  which  No.  I  is  found  in  six 
recensions,  all  probably  dating  from  257  B.C.,  a  little  before 
the  Foiu'teen  Rock  Edicts.     No.  II  may  be  somewhat  later. 

II.  The  Bhabrii  Edict,  of  about  the  same  date  as  Minor 
Rock  Edict  I. 

III.  The  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts,  in  seven  recensions,  dating 
from  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  regnal  years,  as  reckoned 
from  the  coronation,  corresponding  roughly  to  257,  256  B.C. 

IV.  The  two  Kalinga  Edicts,  issued  probably  in  256  b.c, 
and  concerned  only  with  the  newly  conquered  province. 

V.  The  three  dedicatory  Cave  Inscriptions  at  Barabar  near 
Gaya,  257  and  250  B.C. 

VI.  The  two  Tarai  Pillar  Inscriptions,  249  b.c 

VII.  The  Seven  Pillar  Edicts,  in  six  recensions,  243  and 
242  B.C. 

VIII.  The  Minor  Pillar  Edicts,  about  240  b.c,  or  later. 

The  first  Minor  Rock  Edict  presents  more  difficulties  in  Minor 
interpretation  than  any  other  Asoka  document.     These  diffi-  Edicts 
culties  are  being  solved  gradually,  and  it  is  now  certain  that 
the  edict  does  not  include  a  date.^     Its  high  value  for  the 
personal   history   of    Asoka    has    been    referred    to    above. 

^  Prof.  Rapson  is  of  opinion  that  Rame^vara  (14°  50'  N.  lat.,  76°  48' 

'the    region    in    which    both    the  E.    long.)    and    Brahinagiri.     The 

KharosthI  and  the  Brahmi  scripts  other  three  are  at  Sahasrara  (Sas- 

were  at  home  may  be  fairly  iden-  seram)   in   the  Shahabad  District, 

tified  with  the  Jalandhar   District  Bihar :   Rupnath,  in   the  Jabalpur 

of  the   Punjab'    {J.E.A.S.,    1905,  Jubbulpore)  District,  Central  Pro- 

p.  810).  vinces  ;   and  Bairat  in  the  Jaipur 

'^  Three     recensions     of    Minor  State,     Rajputana.      Minor    Rock 

Rock    Edict  I    exist   in   Northern  Edict  II  is  added  to  the  Mysore 

Mysore  at  localities  near  one  an-  texts  only, 
other,  namely,  Siddapura,  Jatinga- 


168  ASOKA  MAURYA 

Edict  No.  II  is  merely  ;i   short  s\immary  of  the  Law  or 
Dharma. 
Bhabru  The  BhahrCi  Edict  is  of  the  first  importance  in  the  history 

of  the  Buddhist  Canon,  because  it  enumerates  seven  passages 
in  the  scriptures  wliich  the  emperor  judged  to  merit  the 
special  attention  of  his  people.  All  the  passages  have  now 
been  identified.^  Asoka  may  have  been  residing  at  one  of 
the  Bairat  monasteries  when  he  caused  this  unique  document 
to  be  prepared. 
The  Four-  The  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts  contain  an  exposition  of 
Edicts.  Asoka's  principles  of  government  and  ethical  system,  each 
edict  being  devoted  to  a  special  subject.  The  different 
recensions  vary  considerably,  and  some  do  not  include  all 
the  fourteen  edicts.  The  whole  series,  in  all  its  varieties, 
is  confined  to  remote  frontier  provinces,  \A'hich  were  under 
the  government  of  viceroys.  The  emperor  evidently  was  of 
opinion  that  in  the  home  provinces,  under  his  immediate 
control,  it  was  not  necessary  to  engrave  his  instructions  on 
the  rocks,  other  and  more  convenient  methods  of  publica- 
tion being  available.  But  many  years  later  he  perpetuated 
his  revised  code  in  the  home  provinces  also  by  incising  it 
upon  several  of  the  monolithic  monumental  pillars  which  it 
was  his  pleasure  to  erect  in  numerous  localities.^ 
The  The   two  Kalinga  Edicts  are  special  supplements  to  the 

Edictf.*  series  of  the  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts  intended  to  fix  the 
principles  on  which  tiie  administration  of  the  ncAvly 
conquered  province  and  the  Mild  tribes  dwelling  on  its 
borders  should  be  conducted.  They  were  substituted  for 
certain  edicts  (Nos.  XI,  XII,  XIII)  of  the  regular  series, 
which  were  omitted  from  the  Kalinga  recension,  as  being 
unsuitable  for  local  promulgation.- 

*  The  Bhabru  Edict  i.s  incised  on  sahra  or  Manscra,  in  Hazara  Dis- 

a  boulder,  now  in  Calcutta,  which  trict  ,Urasa  ,  Panjab,  the  Kharosh- 

was  removed  from  the  top  of  a  hill  thi  script  being  used  at  both  these 

at  Bairat.     Minor  Rock  Edict  I  is  places  ;    i^ij    Kalsl,   in   the   Lower 

incised  on  a  rock  at  the  foot  of  an  Himalayas,    15    miles    west    from 

adjoining  hill.  Mussoorie  (Mansurl  ;   (4)  Sopara, 

2  The  positions  of  the  Fourteen  in  Thana  District,  near  Bombay ; 

Rock  Edicts  are  :   '  1   Shahbazgarhi,  V  the  Girnar  hill,  near  Junagarh, 

in   the    Yusufzl  country,  40  miles  in  the  Kathifiwar  peninsula;   6  near 

north-east  of  Peshawar ;    {'ij  Man-  Dhauli,  to  the  south  of  Bhuvane- 


THE   BIRTH-PLACE    OF   BUDDHA 
(rummindei  pillar  and  temple) 


PILLAR  INSCRIPTIONS  169 

The  three  Cave  Inscriptions  at  Barabar  in  the  Gaya  Cave  In- 
District  are  merely  brief  dedications  of  costly  cave  dwellings  ^"""^  '°"^' 
for  the  use  of  a  monastic  sect  known  as  Ajivika,  the  members 
of  which  went  about  naked,  and  were  noted  for  ascetic  prac- 
tices of  the  most  rigorous  kind.  These  records  are  chiefly 
of  interest  as  a  decisive  proof  that  Asoka  was  sincere  in 
his  solemn  declaration  that  he  honoured  all  sects ;  for  the 
Ajivikas  were  extreme  fatalists,  having  little  or  nothing  in 
common  with  the  Buddhists. 

The  two  Tarai  Pillar  Inscriptions,  although  extremely  Tarai 
brief,  are  of  much  interest  for  many  reasons,  one  of  which  scriptions. 
is  that  they  prove  beyond  question  the  truth  of  the 
literary  tradition  that  Asoka  performed  a  solemn  pilgrim- 
age to  the  sacred  spots  of  the  Buddhist  Holy  Land.  The 
Rummindei,  or  Padaria,  inscription,  which  is  in  absolutely 
perfect  preservation,  has  the  great  merit  of  deterinining, 
beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  the  exact  position  of  the 
famous  Lumbini  Garden,  where,  according  to  the  legend, 
Gautama  Buddha  first  saw  the  light.  This  determination 
either  solves,  or  supplies  the  key  to,  a  multitude  of 
problems.  The  companion  record  at  Nigliva,  which  is  less 
perfectly  preserved,  gives  the  unexpected  and  interesting 
information  that  Asoka^s  devotion  was  not  confined  to 
Gautama  Buddha,  but  included  in  its  catholic  embrace  his 
predecessors,  tlie  "former  Buddhas'.^ 

The  Seven  Pillar  Edicts,  issued  in  their  complete  form  The  Pillar 
in  or  about  the  year  242  B.C.,  when  Asoka  had  reigned  for 
some  thirty  years,  and  was  nearing  the  close  of  his  career  of 
activity   in   worldly   affairs,    must   be  read  along  with  the 
Fourteen  Rock  Edicts,  to  which  they  refer,  and  of  Mhich 

svar  in  the  Cuttack  Katak  District.  river,    in    approximately   E.    long. 

Orissa :  and    7   at  Jaugada  in  the  80"  11',  N.  lat.  -25°  58'.     Padaria  is 

Ganjam    District,     Madras.      The  a  neighbouring  \illage.   The  Nigliva 

last  two   places  were  included  in  pillar,  which  apparently  has  been 

Kalinga ;     and    the    two    KaHnga  moved  from  its   original  position. 

Edicts   are    added    as    appendices  now  stands  about  13  miles  to  the 

to  the  Dhauli  and  Jaugada  texts.  north-west  from  Rummindei.     For 

See  map.  facsimile  of  Rummindei  inscription, 

^  The  Rummindei  ruins  lie  4  miles  see  Asoka,  the  Bud<lhigt  Emperor  oj 

inside  the    Nepalese   border,  and  India,  plate  ii. 
a  httle  to  the  west  of  the  TUar 


170  ASOKA  MAURYA 

they  may  be  considered  an  appendix.  The  principles  enun- 
ciated in  the  earlier  instructions  are  reiterated  and  emphasized 
in  the  later ;  the  regulations  enforcing  the  sanctity  of  animal 
life  are  amplified  and  codified ;  and  the  series  closes  with  the 
most  valuable  of  all  the  documents,  Pillar  Edict  No.  VII, 
preserved  on  one  monument  only,  uhich  recounts  in  orderly 
fashion  the  measures  adopted  by  the  emperor  during  the 
course  of  his  long  reign  to  promote  '  the  growth  of  piety '} 
Minor  The  historical  interest  of  the  Minor  Pillar  Inscriptions  was 

scriptions.  "ot  recognized  until  after  the  discovery  of  the  Sarnath  Edict 
in  1905,  when  it  appeared  that  the  Sanchi  and  Kausambi 
Edicts,  which  had  been  known  for  many  years,  were  merely 
variants  of  the  better  preserved  Sarnath  text.  Inasmuch 
as  all  the  three  documents  deal  with  the  penalties  for  schism 
in  the  Church,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  they  represent 
the  decision  of  the  Council  convened  to  suppress  schism. 
The  Queen's  Edict  is  concerned  with  the  Almoner's  Depart- 
ment.^ 
Relation  The  foregoing  summary  exposition  will  perhaps  suffice  to 
phkfmid     enable  the  reader  to  form  some  notion  of  the  extraordinary 

traditional  interest  attaching  to  the  unique  series  of  inscriiJtions  issued 
evidence.  o  i  i 

by  Asoka  between  the  years  257  and  232  B.C.,  which  is  the 

only  safe  foundation  on  which  to  build  a   history   of   his 

momentous  reign.     But  tradition  has  its  value  as  a  secondary 

source  of  information,  and  a  few  words  in  explanation  of  the 

character  of  the  traditional  evidence  for  the  Asokan  history 

are  indispensable. 

The  The  rank  growth  of  legend  which  has  clustered  round  the 

Asokan  ,.   *       ,      ,  i 

legend.       name  oi  Asoka  bears  eloquent  testnnony  to  the  commandmg 

influence  of  his  personality.     In  the  Buddhist  world  his  fame 

is  as  great  as   that   of  Charlemagne   in   mediaeval  Europe, 

and  the  tangle  of  mythological  legend  which  obscures  the 

genuine  history  of  Asoka  may  be  compared  in  mass  with 

'  The  Pillar  Edicts  are  found  on  garh,  and  Rampurwa,  in  the  Cham- 
six  pillars  :  namely,  two  at  Delhi,  of  paran  District  of  Tirhut. 
which  one  was  brought  from  Topra  "^  The  Kausambi  and  Queen's 
near  Umballa,  and  the  other  from  Edicts  are  incised  upon  the  Allaha- 
Meerut  (^Mirath  ;  on  one  pillar  at  bad  Pillar  in  a  way  which  shows  that 
Allahabad  ;  and  on  one  each  at  they  must  be  later  in  date  than  the 
Lauriya-Araraj.     Lauriya-Nandan-  Pillar  Edicts. 


LEGENDS  171 

that  which  drapes  the  figures  of  Alexander,  Arthur,  and 
Charlemagne.  The  Asokan  legend  is  not  all  either  fiction 
or  myth,  and  includes  some  genuine  historical  tradition ; 
but  is  no  better  suited  to  serve  as  the  foundation  of  sober 
history  than  the  stories  of  the  Morte  d' Arthur  or  Pseudo- 
Kallisthenes  are  adapted  to  form  the  bases  of  chronicles 
of  the  doings  of  the  British  champion  or  the  Macedonian 
conqueror.  This  obvious  canon  of  criticism  has  been 
forgotten  by  most  writers  upon  the  Maurya  period,  who  have 
begun  at  the  wrong  end  with  the  late  legends,  instead  of  at 
the  right  end  with  the  contemporary  inscriptions. 

The  legends  have  reached  us  in  two  main  streams,  the  Two 
Ceylonese  and  the  North-Indian.  The  accident  that  the  feg^nd. 
Ceylonese  varieties  of  the  stories  happen  to  be  recorded  in 
books  which  assume  the  form  of  chronicles  with  a  detailed 
chronology,  and  have  been  known  to  European  readers  for 
about  eighty  years,  has  given  to  the  southern  tales  an  illusory 
air  of  special  authenticity.  The  earliest  of  the  Ceylonese 
chronicles,  the  Dlpavaihsdj  which  probably  was  compiled  late 
in  the  fourth  century  after  Christ,  is  some  six  centuries 
posterior  to  the  death  of  Asoka,  and  has  little  claim  to  be 
regarded  as  a  first-rate  authority,  although  deserving  respectful 
consideration. 

The  North-Indian  legends  are  at  least  as  old ;  but  being  Higher 

recorded  in  fragments  scattered  through  many  books,  Indian,  ^f  ^^^ 

Nepalese,  Chinese,  and  Tibetan,  have  received  scant  con-  northern 
r  ^  7  '  legends. 

sideration.     All  legendary  material,  of  course,  must  be  used 

with  extreme  caution,  and  only  as  a  supplement  to  authentic 
data;  but  a  moment's  consideration  will  show  that  legends 
preserved  in  Northern  India,  the  seat  of  Asoka's  imperial 
power,  are  more  likely  to  transmit  genuine  tradition  than 
those  which  reached  the  distant  island  of  Ceylon  in  transla- 
tions brought  nobody  knows  how,  when,  or  whence,  and 
subsequently  largely  modified  by  local  and  sectarian  influences. 
This  presumption  is  verified  Avhen  the  two  groups  of  legends 
are  compared;  and  then  it  clearly  appears  that  in  certain 
matters  of  importance  where  they  differ,  the  Northern  version 
is  distinctly  the  more  credible. 


172  ASOKA  MAURYA 


APPENDIX    H 

The  Inscriptions  of  Asoka ;  Bibliographical  Note 

(Based  on  that  published  in  Asoka,  2nd  ed.,  pp.  202-4, 
brouglit  up  to  date.) 

The  older  and  obsolete  publications  of  Prinsep,  &c.,  are  not 
cited.  A  full  list  of  references  up  to  1902  will  be  found  in 
R.  Otto  Franke,  Prdi  und  Sanskrit,  Strassburg,  1902,  pp.  1-5. 
The  following  list,  recording  publications  up  to  and  including 
1913,  is  believed  to  be  nearly  complete,  so  far  as  important 
writings  are  concerned,  but  it  is  possible  some  articles  may  have 
been  overlooked. 

I.     General 

Senart,  Emile. — Les  Inscriptions  de  Piijadasi  (Paris,  t.  i,  1881 ;  t. 
ii,  1886).  This  great  work,  although  partiall}'  superseded  by  later 
discoveries  and  researches,  is  still  indispensable  for  a  thorough 
study  of  the  inscriptions. 

Cunningham,  Sir  A. — Inscriptions  of  Asoka  (Calcutta,  1877). 
May  be  consulted  for  topographical  details. 

Hardy,  Prof.  E. — Konig  Asoka  (Mainz,  1902).  A  popular 
account  of  the  reign  on  traditional  lines,  with  incidental  notice 
of  the  inscriptions. 

Smith,  V.A. — 'Asoka  Notes'  (U)  in  Ind.  Ant.  for  1903,  1905, 
1908,  1909,  and  19IO;  Asoka,  the  Buddhist  Emperor  of  India, 
2nd  ed.,  1909-  The  new  edition  of  the  inscriptions,  with  transla- 
tion and  commentary,  by  Prof.  Hultzsch,  now  (1913)  in  prepara- 
tion, may  be  expected  to  settle  most  of  the  controverted  matters. 
New  facsimiles  have  been  prepared  for  the  use  of  Prof. 
Hultzsch. 

II.     Minor  Rock  Edicts 

These  documents,  studied  in  connexion  with  the  Minor  Pillar 
Edicts,  have  attracted  special  attention.  The  last  word  has  not 
been  said  yet. 

Bl'hler,  G. — Siddapura  (Mysore)  texts,  ed.  and  transl.  with 
facs.,  in  Ep.  hid.,  iii,  1.'55-1'2  ;  Sahasram,  Bairat,  and  Haj^nath 
texts,  ed.  and  transl.  with  facs.  of  Sahasram  and  Rupnath  in  Ind. 
Ant.,  vi  (1877),  pp.  149-60  ;  and  revised,  ibid.,  vol.  xxii  (1893), 
pp.  209-306.     See  also  ibid.,  vol.  xxvi  (1897),  p.  334. 

Rice,  Lewis. — Facs,  of  Siddapura  texts,  all  three,  in  Ep.  Cam., 
vol.  xi  (Bangalore,  1 909)  ;  and  of  Brahmagiri  text  in  Mysore  and 
Coorg  from  the  Inscriptions  (London,  1909)- 

Fleet,  J.  F. — A  series  of  papers  in  J.R.A.S.  for  1.903,  1904, 
19O8,  1909,  1910,  and  1911. 

Thomas,  F.  W.—Ind.  Ant.,  1()08,  j).  21  ;  '  Les  Vivasah  d'Asoka ', 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE  173 

J.  Asiatiq2ie,  Mai-Juiu  1910,  important;  J.R.A.S.,  1913,  p. 
477. 

HuLTZscH,  I'rof.— J. li. A. S.,  1910, pp. U2, 1308;  191  l,p-  mi; 
1913,  p.  1053  (with  Minor  Pillar  Edicts). 

Levi,  Prof.  Sylvain. — '  Vyuthena  256 '  in  J.  Asiatique,  Jan.- 
Fdv.  1911. 

BiiANDARKAR,  D.  R. — '  Epigraphic  Notes  and  Questions,'  Ind. 
Ant.,  1912,  pp.  170-3. 

III.     Bhabru  (Bhabra)  Edict 

Senart,  Emile, — Revised  ed.  and  transl.  in  Ind.  Ant.,  891,  p. 
165. 

Burgess,  J. — Facs.  in  /.  Asiatique,  1887. 

Davids,  T.  W.  Rn\s.—JM.  A.  S.,  1898,  p.  639;  ./.  P(ih  Text 
^oc,  1896. 

Hardy,  E.— /.  R.  A.  S.,  1901,  pp.  311,  577. 

L^vi,  Prof.  Sylvain. — '  Notes  sur  diverses  inscriptions  de 
Piyadasi',  Sec.  ii,  in  /.  Asiatique,  Mai-Juin  1896.  (Sec.  i  deals 
with  the  Minor  Rock  Edicts). 

KosAMBi,  Prof.  Dh. — Ind.  Ant.,  1912,  p.  37. 

HuLTzscH,  Prof.—/.  R.  A.  S.,  1911,  V-  11 13. 

Edmunds,  A.— J.  R.  A.  S.,  1913,  p.  385. 

IV.   The  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts 

The  standard  edition  is  that  by  BUhler  in  Ep.  Ind.,  ii,  pp.  4'i7- 
72,  with  foes,  of  Girnrir,  Shahbazgarhi,  Mansahra,  and  Kalsi 
texts.  Facs.  of  Edict  XII,  Shrdib.,  by  same,  in  Ep.  Ind.,\,  l6  ;  ed. 
and  transl.,  by  same,  of  Dhaiili  and  Jaugacla  texts  in  Burgess,  Ama- 
ravat'i  (J.  S.  S.  I.,  1887),  pp.  114-25.  Another  facs.  of  Girnar  text, 
with  obsolete  transl.,  in  Burgess,  Kaihidn'ar and  Kachh,  A.S.W.I., 
pp.  93-127. 

Edicts  I,  II,  discussed  by  D.  R.  Bhandarkar  in  J.  Bo.  Bi:  R.  A.  S., 
vol.  XX  (1902).  For  Edict  III,  see  Fleet,  J.R.A.S.,  1908, 
pp.  811-22.  Edict  IV,  discussed  by  Hultzsch,  J.  R.  A.  S.,  191 1, 
p.  785,  and  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  Ind.  Ant.,  1913,  p.  25. 

Many  points  connected  with  the  series  are  examined  by 
V.  A.  Smith  in  '  Asoka  Notes '  (see  /.  General,  above)  ;  and  by 
R.  O.  Franke,  '  Zu  A9oka's  Felsen-Edicten  ',  in  Nachr.  d.  Konigl. 
Gesellsch.  d.  Wissenschaften  zu  G'nttingen,  1895. 

The  papers  by  Michelson,  chiefly  dealing  with  technicalities 
of  etymology  and  phonetics,  in  J.  Ame?:  Or.Soc,  1911  ;  American 
J.  PhiloJogij,  1909,  1910  ;  and  Indo-Germ.  Forschungen,  19IO,  19II, 
are  concerned  to  a  considerable  extent  with  the  Fourteen  Rock 
Edicts. 

V.    Kalinga  Edicts 

Revised,  ed.,  and  transl.  by  Senart  and  Grierson  in  Ind.  Ant., 
xix  (1890),  pp.  82-102  ;  correcting  the  earlier  transl.  by  Buhler, 
with  facs.  in  Burgess,  Amanivati  (^A.S.S.  I,  1887),  pp.  125-31. 


174  ASOKA  MAURYA 


VI.    The  Seven  Pillar  Edicts 

The  standard  ed.  is  Buhler's,  with  transl.  and  facs.  of  some 
texts,  in  Ep.  Inch,  ii  (ISP^'),  pp.  245-71.  Senart's  earlier  revised 
ed.  and  transl.  in  hid.  Ant.,  xvii  (1888),  pp.  30.3-7  ;  xviii  (1889), 
pp.  i,  1?y,  105,  .300.  Facs.  of  Delhi-Topra  and  Allahabad  texts, 
by  BiJHLER  AND  Fleet,  in  ///(/.  //«/.,  xiii  (1884),  p.  306. 

MoNMOHAN  Chakuavarti. — '  Animals  in  the  Inscriptions  of 
Piyadasi'  {Memoirs  A.  S.  B.,  Calc,  1906),  for  Ed.  v. 

T.  MifHEi.soN  in  'Notes  on  the  Pillar  Edicts  of  Asoka  '  {Indo- 
Gcnn.  Forschungen  (Sonderabzug,  Triibner,  Strassburg,  1908)  gives 
valuable  textual  criticism  with  some  interpretations. 

For  description  of  the  Rampurwa  pillars,  see  ./.  R.  A.  S.,  1908, 
p.  1085. 

The  Pillar  Edicts  present  comparatively  few  difficulties. 

VII.   Minor  Pillar  Edicts 

(1)  Sanchi. — Bxjhler  ed.  and  transl.  in  Ep.  Ind.,  ii,  87,  367  ; 
HuLTzscH,  ,/.  B.  A.  S.,  1911,  p.  167. 

(2)  Queen's  Edict. — Buhlkr  ed.  and  transl.  in  Ep.  Ind.,  ii,  87, 
367  ;  and  further  revision  in  Ind.  Ant.,  xix  (1890),  p.  125.  Senart, 
revised,  ed.,  and  transl.  in  Ind.  Ant.,  xviii  (1889),  p-  308. 

(3)  KausambT. — Senart  transcribed  it  in  Ind.  Ant.,\\\\\{\SS9), 
p.  309;  facs.  and  transcript  by  BDhler,  ibid.,  xix  (1890),  p.  126. 

(4)  Sarnath. — Vogel,  discussion  with  facs.  in  Ep.  Ind.,  viii 
(1905-6),  p.  l66  ;  Senart,  Comptes  rendus  de  I  Acad,  des  Inscrip- 
tions, 1907,  p.  25  ;  Venis,  /.  Sf  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  vol.  iii,  N.S.  (1907) : 
Norman,  ibid.,  vol.  iv  (1908);  Boyer,  J.  Asiatique,  t.  x  (1907), 
p.  119. 

The  interpretation  is  connected  with  that  of  the  Minor  Rock 
Edicts,  which  see.  For  description  of  the  pillar,  see  Annual  Rep, 
Arch.  S.,  1904-5,  pp.  36,  68. 

VIII.  The  Tarai  Commemorative  Inscriptions 

Both  ed.  and  transl.  by  BtJHLER,  with  facs.  in  Ep.  Ind.,  v,  4. 
Rummindei  inscr. — Facs.  and  revised  transl.  in  Asoka,  2nd  ed., 
1909.  See  J.B.A.S.,  1897,  p.  4;  1908,  pp.  471-98,  823  ;  Pischel 
in  Sitciing.sb.  ij.  k'on.  preuss.  Akad.  d.  Wissenschaften ,  1903  ;  Ind. 
Ant.,  xxxiv  (1905),  p.  i. 

IX.  Cave  Dedications  of  Asoka  and  Dasaratha 

All  ed.  and  transl.  by  BijuLER,  with  facs.  in  Ind.  Ant.,  xx  (1891), 
p.  361. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ASOKA  MAURYA  (continued);  AND  HIS 
SUCCESSORS 

The  edicts  arc  devoted  mainly  to  the  exposition,  inculca-  Dhamnut, 
tion,  and  enforcement  of  a  scheme  of  practical  ethics,  or  rule  piety. 
of  conduct,  which  Asoka  called  Dhamma.  No  English  word 
or  phrase  is  exactly  equivalent  to  the  Prakrit  dhamma 
(Sanskrit  dharma),  but  the  expression  Law  of  Piety,  or 
simply  Piety,  comes  tolerably  close  to  the  meaning  of  the 
Indian  term.  The  rendering  Law  of  Duty  may  be  used  if 
preferred.  The  validity  of  this  Law  of  Piety  or  Duty  is 
assumed  in  the  edicts,  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  found  it 
upon  any  theological  or  metaphysical  basis.  Theological 
ideas  are  simply  ignored  by  Asoka,  as  they  were  by  his 
master,  Gautama;  and  the  current  Hindu  philosophy  of 
rebirth,  inaccurately  called  metempsychosis,  is  taken  for 
granted,  and  forms  the  background  of  the  ethical  teaching. 

The  leading  tenet  of  Asoka^s  Buddhism,  as  of  the  cognate  Sanctity- 
Jain  system,  and  some  varieties  of  Brahmanical  Hinduism,  ijfe. 
was  a  passionate,  uncompromising  belief  in  the  sanctity  of 
animal  life.  The  doctrine  of  the  absolute,  unconditional 
right  of  the  meanest  animal  to  retain  the  breath  of  life 
until  the  latest  moment  permitted  by  nature,  is  that  of  the 
edicts ;  and  was  based  upon  the  belief  that  all  living 
creatures,  including  men,  animals,  gods,  and  demons,  form 
links  in  an  endless  chain  of  existence,  or  rather  of 
^  becoming  '.^ 

The  being  that  is  now  a  god  in  heaven  may  be  reborn  in  Doctrines 
the  course  of  aeons  as  an  insect;   and  the  insect,  in  its  turn,  and 
may  work  up  to  the  rank  of  a  god.     This  belief,  associated  J^c^'"'"- 
with  the  faith  that  the  mode  of  rebirth  is  conditioned  by 

^  The  first  of  the  three  '  charac-  second,  that  they  are  all  misery ; 

teristic  doctrines  of  Buddhism'  is  and  the  third,  that  they  are  lacking 

that  'all  the  constituents  of  being  in  an  Ego  (Warren,  Buddhism  in 

are    transitory'    {nwra    p«r  ;     the  Translations,  p.  xiv\ 


176 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


tlie  kanna,  the  net  ethical  result,  or  balance  of  good  or 
evil  of  the  life  of  each  creature  at  the  moment  of  its 
termination,  lies  deep  down  at  the  roots  of  Indian  thought, 
and  is  inseparably  bound  up  with  almost  every  form  of 
Indian  religion.  Sometimes  it  is  combined  with  theories 
which  recognize  the  existence  of  a  personal  soul,  but  it  is 
also  firmly  held  by  persons  who  utterly  deny  all  forms  of 
the  soul  theory. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  believers  in  ideas  of  this 
kind  may  be  led  logically  to  regard  the  life  of  an  insect  as 
entitled  to  no  less  respect  than  that  of  a  man.  In  practice, 
indeed,  the  sanctity  of  animal  was  placed  above  that  of 
human  life ;  and  the  absurd  spectacle  was  sometimes  wit- 
nessed of  a  man  being  put  to  death  for  killing  ^an  animal, 
or  even  for  eating  meat.  The  most  pious  Buddhist  and 
Jain  kings  had  no  hesitation  about  inflicting  capital  punish- 
ment upon  their  subjects,  and  Asoka  himself  continued  to 
sanction  the  death  penalty  throughout  his  reign.  He  was 
content  to  satisfy  his  humanitarian  feelings  by  a  slight 
mitigation  of  the  sanguinary  penal  code  inherited  from  his 
stern  grandfather  in  conceding  to  condemned  prisoners  three 
days'  grace  to  prepare  for  death.  ^ 

In  early  life  Asoka  is  believed  to  have  been  a  Brahmanical 
Hindu,  specially  devoted  to  Siva,  a  god  whose  consort 
delights  in  bloody  sacrifices ;  and  he  appears  to  have  had 
no  scruple  about  the  shedding  of  blood.  Thousands  of  living 
creatures  used  to  be  slain  on  the  occasion  of  a  banquet 
(samuja)  to  supply  the  kitchens  of  the  overgrown  royal 
household  with  curries  for  a  single  day.  As  he  became 
gradually  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Buddhist  teaching,  this 
wholesale  daily  slaughter  became  abominable  in  his  eyes,  and 
was  stopped  ;  only  three  living  creatures  at  the  most,  namely, 
two  peacocks  and  one  deer,  being  killed  each  day;  and  in 
257  B.  c.  even  this  limited  butchery  was  put  an  end  to.^ 


»  PiUar  Edict  IV. 

2  Rock  Edict  I.  Mr.  D.  R. 
Bhandarkar's  (oraracnts  in  *  Epi- 
graphic  Notes  and  Questions ' 
(/.  Bo.  R.   A.   S.,    1902    deserve 


attention.  The  late  Mr.  E.  Thomas 
believed  that  Asoka  was  a  Jain  in 
early  life,  but  without  sufficient 
reason. 


CODE  OF  REGULATIONS  177 

Two  years  earlier,  in  259  B.C.,  Asoka  had  abolislied  the  Abolition 
royal  hunt,  which  formed  such  an  important  element  in  the  ,.^^^1 
amusements  of   his  grandfather's  court.     *  In  times  past,^  hunt, 
he  observes,  ^  their  Majesties  were  wont  to  go  out  on  pleasure 
tours,  during  which  hunting  and  other  similar  amusements 
used  to  be  practised.'    But  His  Sacred  and  Gracious  Majesty 
no  longer  cared  for  such  frivolous  outings,  and  had  substi- 
tuted for  them  solemn  progresses  devoted  to  inspection  of 
the  country  and  people,  visits  and  largess  to  holy  men,  and 
preaching  and  discussion  of  the  Law  of  Piety.^ 

As  time  went  on  Asoka^s  passionate  devotion  to  the  Code  of 
doctrine  of  the  sanctity  of  animal  life  grew  in  intensity ;  and,  ^'^' 
in  24)3  B.C.,  resulted  in  the  production  of  a  stringent  code 
of  regulations  applicable  to  all  classes  of  the  population 
throughout  the  empire,  without  distinction  of  creed.  Many 
kinds  of  animals  were  absolutely  protected  from  slaughter  in 
any  circumstances;  and  the  slaying  of  animals  commonly 
used  for  food  by  the  flesh-eating  population,  although  not 
totally  prohibited,  was  hedged  round  by  severe  restrictions. 
On  fifty-six  specified  days  in  the  year,  killing  under  any 
pretext  was  categorically  forbidden ;  and  in  many  ways  the 
liberty  of  the  subject  was  very  seriously  contracted.^  While 
Asoka  lived,  these  regulations  were,  no  doubt,  strictly 
enforced  by  the  special  officers  appointed  for  the  purpose ; 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  deliberate  breach  of  the  more 
important  regulations  was  visited  with  the  capital  penalty, 
as  it  was  later  in  the  days  of  Harsha. 

The  second  cardinal  doctrine  inculcated  and  insisted  on  by  Rever- 
Asoka  was  that  of  the  obligation  of   reverence  to  parents,  ^"^^* 
elders,  and  preceptors.    Conversely,  superiors,  while  receiving 
their  due  of  reverence,  were  required  to  treat  their  inferiors. 


'  Rock  Edict  VIII.  The  formula,  Chanakya's   rules  in    Arthamstra, 

♦  His  Sacred  and  Gracious  Majesty,'  Bk.  ii,  ch.  36.    A  notable  difference 

is  a  fair  equivalent  of  cUvdnathpiya  is  that  Asoka 's  Edict  does  not  give 

jnyadasi,  which  words  formed  an  protection    to    the    cow   or   other 

official  title,  and  cannot  be  rendered  horned  cattle,  whereas  the  Artha- 

faithfuUy  by  etymological  analysis.  mstra  prohibits  their  slaughter  un- 

The  words  mean  literally,  '  Dear  to  der  a  penalty  of  a  fine  of  50  paims. 

the  gods,  of  gracious  mien.'  See  also  Bk.  xiii,  ch.  5,  in  Ind.  Ant., 

2  Pillar     Edict     V.        Compare  1910,  p.  164. 

1626  N 


178 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


Truthful- 
ness. 


Tolera- 
tion. 


Asoka's 
practice. 


including  servants,  shues,  and  all  living  creatures,  M'ith  kind- 
ness and  consideration.^  As  a  corollary  to  these  obligations, 
men  were  taught  that  the  spirit  which  inspires  reverence 
on  the  one  side,  and  kindness  on  the  other,  should  further 
induce  them  to  behave  with  courteous  decorum  to  relatives, 
ascetics,  and  Brahnians,  and  likewise  to  practise  liberality  to 
the  same  classes,  as  well  as  to  friends  and  acquaintances. 

The  third  primary  duty  laid  upon  men  was  that  of  truth- 
fulness. These  three  guiding  principles  are  most  concisely 
formulated  in  the  Second  Minor  Rock  Edict,  which  may  be 
(juoted  in  full : — 

^Thus  saith  His  Majesty  : 

"  Father  and  mother  must  be  obeyed ;  similarly,  respect 
for  living  creatures  must  be  enforced;  truth  must  be  spoken. 
These  are  the  virtues  of  the  Law  of  Piety  which  must  be 
practised.  Similarly,  the  teacher  must  be  reverenced  by  the 
pupil,  and  proper  courtesy  must  be  shown  to  relations. 

This  is  the  ancient  standard  of  piety — this  leads  to  length 
of  days,  and  according  to  this  men  must  act ".' 

Among  secondary  duties,  a  high  place  was  given  to  that 
of  showing  toleration  for  and  sympathy  witli  the  beliefs  and 
practices  of  others;  and  a  special  edict,  No.  XII  of  the 
Rock  series,  was  devoted  to  the  exposition  of  this  topic. 
The  subjects  of  the  imperial  moralist  were  solemnly  warned 
to  abstain  from  speaking  q\\\  of  their  neighbours'  faith ; 
remembering  that  all  forms  of  religion  alike  aim  at  the 
attainment  of  self-control  and  purity  of  mind,  and  are  thus 
in  agreement  about  essentials,  however  much  they  may  differ 
in  externals. 

Asoka  openly  avowed  his  readiness  to  act  upon  these 
latitudinarian  principles  by  doing  reverence  to  men  of  all 
sects,  whether  ascetics  or  householders,  by  means  of  donations 
and  in  other  ways.  The  Cave  Inscriptions,  which  record 
costly  gifts  bestowed  upon  the  Ajivikas,  an  independent  sect 


^  For  the  law  concerning  slaves 
and  servants  see  ArthnMsfra,  Bk. 
iii,  chs.  13,  14.  The  general  rule 
was  laid  down  that  an  Arya  could 
not  be  in  the  status  of  slavery  {Na 


tv-ev-dryasya  ddsahhdvah),  but  it 
was  subject  to  exceptions.  When 
Megasthenes  averred  that  slavery 
was  unknown  in  India,  he  may  have 
had  some  such  rule  in  his  mind. 


TOLERATION  AND  CHARITY  179 

of  self-moitifyiiig-  ascetics,  testify  that  Asoka,  like  many 
other  ancient  kings  of  India,  really  adopted  the  policy  of 
universal  toleration  and  concurrent  endowment.^ 

But  his  toleration,  although  perfectly  genuine,  must  be  Limita- 
understood  with  two  limitations.  In  the  first  place,  all 
Indian  religions,  with  which  alone  Asoka  was  concerned,  had 
much  in  common,  and  were  all  alike  merely  variant  ex- 
pressions of  Hindu  modes  of  thought  and  feeling.  There  was 
no  such  gap  dividing  them  as  that  which  yawns  between  Islam 
and  Puranic  Brahmanism.  In  the  second  place,  the  royal 
toleration,  although  perfect  as  regarding  beliefs,  did  not 
necessarily  extend  to  all  overt  practices.  Sacrifices  involving 
the  death  of  a  victim,  which  are  absolutely  indispensable  for 
the  correct  worship  of  some  of  the  gods,  were  categorically 
prohibited,  at  least  at  the  capital,  from  an  early  period  in 
the  reign ;  '^  and  were  further  restricted,  in  all  parts  of  the 
empire,  by  the  code  promulgated  later  in  the  Pillar  Edicts. 
The  conscientious  objector  was  not  permitted  to  allege  his 
conscience  as  a  justification  for  acts  disapproved  on  principle 
by  the  government.  Men  might  believe  what  they  liked,  but 
must  do  as  they  were  told. 

While  almsgiving  was  commended,  the  higher  doctrine  True 
was  taught  that  '  there  is  no  such  charity  as  the  charitable  ^  ^"  ^ " 
gift  of  the  Law  of  Piety ;  no  such  distribution  as  the  dis- 
tribution of  piety  \^  The  sentiment  recurs  in  curiously 
similar  language  in  Cromwell's  earliest  extant  letter.  He 
wrote  from  St.  Ives :  '  Building  of  hospitals  provides  for 
men's  bodies ;  to  build  material  temples  is  judged  a  work  of 
piety ;  but  they  that  procure  spiritual  food,  they  that  build 
up  spiritual  temples,  they  are  the  men  truly  charitable, 
truly  pious.^  * 

1  The  notion  of  toleration  being  acquired   a  new  territory  '  should 

a  royal  duty  still  survives.     Biihler  follow  the  people  in  their  faith  with 

was    '  told   in    Rajputana,    a    raja  which  they  celebrate  their  national, 

ought  not  to  be  exclusive  in  the  religious,  and  congregational  festi- 

point  of  worship,  but  favour  all  the  vals  or  amusements  '  (Bk.  xiii,  ch. 

various  sects  among  his  subjects'  5,  in  Incl.  Ant.,  1910,  p.  lei). 
{Ind.    Ant.,   vi.    183).     This   prin-  ^  Rock  Edict  I. 

ciple  has  been  acted  on  frequently.  '  Rock  Edict  XI. 

The  Arthasdstra  goes  so  far  as  to  *  Letter  dated  Jan.  11,  1635,  in 

prescribe  that  the  king  who  has  Carlyle's  edition. 

N  2 


180 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


True  cere 
monial. 


Virtues  in- 
culcated. 


Official 
propa- 
ganda. 


Censors. 


Asoka  cared  little  for  ritual^  and  was  inclined  to  look  with 
some  scorn  upon  ordinary  ceremonies,  which^  as  he  observes, 
M)ear  little  fruit,  and  are  of  doubtful  efficacy'.  Just  as  true 
charity  consists  in  a  man's  efforts  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of 
the  Law  of  Piety  among  his  fellow  creatures,  so  true  cere- 
monial consists  in  the  fulfilment  of  that  law,  which  '  bears 
great  fruit ' ;  and  includes  kind  treatment  of  slaves  and 
servants,  honour  to  teachers,  respect  for  life,  and  liberality 
to  ascetics  and  Brahmans.  These  things,  with  others  of  the 
same  kind,  are  called  'the  ceremonial  of  piety. '^ 

The  preacher  looked  to  men's  hearts  rather  than  to  their 
outward  acts,  and  besought  his  congregation,  the  inhabitants 
of  a  vast  empire,  to  cultivate  the  virtues  of  '^  compassion, 
liberality,  truth,  purity,  gentleness,  and  saintliness.^  He 
hoped  that  the  growth  of  piety  would  be  promoted  by  the 
imperial  regulations  devised  for  that  purpose;  but,  while 
enforcing  those  regulations  with  all  the  power  of  an  autocrat, 
he  relied  more  upon  the  meditations  of  individuals,  stimu- 
lated by  his  teaching.  '  Of  these  two  means,^  he  says, '  pious 
regulations  are  of  small  account,  whereas  meditation  is  of 
greater  value.'  ^ 

Notwithstanding  his  avowal  of  the  comparative  powerless- 
ness  of  regulations,  the  emperor  did  not  neglect  to  provide 
official  machinery  for  the  promulgation  of  his  docti-ine,  and 
the  enforcement  of  his  orders.  All  the  officers  of  State, 
whom,  in  modern  phraseology,  we  may  call  Lieutenant- 
Governors,  Commissioners,  and  District  Magistrates,  were 
commanded  to  make  use  of  opportunities  during  their 
periodical  tours  for  convoking  assemblies  of  the  lieges,  and 
instructing  them  in  the  whole  duty  of  man.  Certain  days 
in  the  year  were  particularly  set  apart  for  this  duty,  and 
the  officials  were  directed  to  perform  it  in  addition  to  their 
ordinary  work.^ 

A  special  agency  of  Censors  was  also  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  enforcing  the  regulations  concerning  the  sanctity 
of  animal  life,   and  the  observance  of  filial   piety,   in   the 

'  Rook  Edict  IX.  =>  Pillar  Edict  VII. 

2  Rock  Edict  III ;  the  Kalinga  Edicts. 


CENSORS  IRl 

most  extended  sense.  These  officers  were  expressly  enjoined 
to  concern  themselves  with  all  sects,  and  with  every  class  of 
society,  not  excluding  the  royal  family;  M'hile  separate 
officials  were  charged  with  the  delicate  duty  of  supervising 
female  morals.^  In  practice,  this  system  must  have  led  to 
much  espionage  and  tyranny;  and,  if  we  may  judge  from 
the  proceedings  of  kings  in  later  ages,  who  undertook 
a  similar  task,  the  punishments  inflicted  for  breach  of  the 
imperial  regulations  must  have  been  terribly  severe. 

It  is  recorded  by  contemporary  testimony  that  in  the  Similar 
seventh  century  King  Harsha,  who  obviously  aimed  at^jarsh" 
copying  closely  the  institutions  of  Asoka,  did  not  shrink 
from  inflicting  capital  punishment  without  hope  of  pardon 
on  any  person  who  dared  to  infringe  his  commands  by  slaying 
any  living  thing,  or  using  flesh  as  food  in  any  part  of  his 
dominions.^ 

In  the  twelfth  century,  Kumarapala,  king  of  Gujarat  in  and  of 
Western  India,  after  his  conversion  to  Jainism  in  a.d.  1159,  pji^ 
took  up  the  doctrine  of  the  sanctity  of  animal  life  with 
the  most  inordinate  zeal,  and  imposed  savage  penalties  upon 
violators  of  his  rules.  An  unlucky  merchant,  who  had  com- 
mitted the  atrocious  crime  of  cracking  a  louse,  was  brought 
before  the  special  court  at  Anhihvara  and  punished  by  the 
confiscation  of  his  whole  property,  the  proceeds  of  which 
were  devoted  to  the  building  of  a  temple.  Another  wretch, 
who  had  outraged  the  sanctity  of  the  capital  by  bringing 
in  a  dish  of  raw  meat,  was  put  to  death.  The  special  court 
constituted  by  Kumarapala  had  functions  similar  to  those  of 
Asoka's  Censors,  and  the  working  of  the  later  institution 
sheds  much  light  upon  the  unrecorded  proceedings  of  the 
earlier  one.^ 

More  modern  parellels  to  Asoka's  Censors  are  not  lacking.  Censors  in 
In  1876,  when  a  pious  Maharaja  was  in  power  in  Kashmir,    *^  ™^^' 
breaches  of  the  commandments  of  the  Hindu  scriptures  were 

1  Rock    Edicts   V,   XII ;    Pillar  1889,  p.  39.      The  whole  story  of 

Edict  VII.  Kumarapala's  conversion  ^pp-   29- 

^  Beal,  Records,  1,  214.  42)  is  instructive  as  a  commentary 

^  Biihler,    Ueber   das   Leben  des  on  the  Asoka  edicts. 
Jaina  Moriches  Hemachandra,  Wien, 


182  ASOKA  MAURYA 

treated  by  the  State  as  offences,  and  investigated  by  a  special 
court  composed  of  five  eminent  pundits,  belonging  to  families 
in  which  the  office  was  hereditary,  who  determined  appro- 
priate penalties.^ 
and  in  the  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  possibly 
eccan.  ^^^^^jj  ^  j.^^^^,  date,  similar .  hereditary  Brahman  officers 
exercised  jurisdiction  over  offenders  charged  with  breaches 
of  caste  rules  in  Khandesh,  the  Deccan,  and  some  parts  of 
the  Konkan,  and  imposed  suitable  expiations  in  the  shape 
of  fine,  penance,  or  excommunication.^ 

These  cases,  ancient  and  modern,  are  sufficient  to  prove 
that  when  Asoka  made  an  innovation  by  appointing  Censors, 
officers  who  '  had  never  been  appointed  in  all  the  long  ages 
past^,  the  new  departure  was  in  accordance  with  Hindu 
notions,  and  was  consecjuently  readily  imitated  in  later  times 
by  rulers  of  various  religions. 
Almoner's  The  practical  piety  of  Asoka  was  exhibited  in  many  works 
nient.  of  benevolence,  on  which  he  dwells  with  evident  pleasure  and 
satisfaction.  His  theory  of  true  charity  did  not  hinder  him 
from  bestowing  liberal  alms.  The  distribution  of  the  charit- 
able grants  made  by  the  sovereign  and  members  of  the  royal 
family  M^as  carefully  supervised  both  by  the  Censors  and 
other  officials,  who  seem  to  have  been  organized  in  a  Royal 
Almoner's  Department." 
Provision  Special  attention  was  devoted  to  the  needs  of  travellers, 
travellers,  who  have  at  all  times  evoked  the  sympathy  of  pious 
Indians.  The  provision  made  for  wayfarers,  including  the 
dumb  animals,  which  were  never  forgotten  by  Asoka,  is  best 
described  in  the  monarch's  own  words:  ^On  tiie  roads',  he 
says,  '  I  have  had  banyan-trees  planted  to  give  shade  to  man 
and  beast ;  I  have  had  groves  of  mango-trees  planted ;  and 
at  every  half  kos  I  have  had  wells  dug ;  rest-houses  have 
been  erected ;  and  numerous  ^^•atering-places  ha\e  been  pre- 
pared here  and  there  for  the  enjoyment  of  man  and  beast.'* 

1  Biihler,' Report  of  a  Tour,' &c.,  'Rock    Edicts    V,   XII;    Pillar 

in  J.  Bo.  Br.  li.  A.  S.  (1876;,'  vol.  Edict  VII ;  Queen's  Edict, 

xii.  Extra  No.,  p.  21.  *  Pillar  Edict  VII ;  Rock  Edict  II. 

^  Calcutta  lievietc    1851),  vol.  xv,  Dr.  Fleet  translates  ndhakosiki/a  as 

p.  XXV  ;  quoted  in //jf/.  v/n<.,  (1903),  *at  distances  of  eip:ht  kos'  (j.  Ji. 

vol.  xxxii,  |).  36.-,.  ^.  N.,  190(i,p.  117  .  SeeaH^-,  p.  135. 


ANIMAL  HOSPITALS  183 

Distances  were  carefully  marked  by  pillars  erected  at  con- 
venient intervals,  ever  since  Chandragupta's  time. 

The  lively  sympatiiy  of  Asoka  \nth  his  suffering  fellow  Relief  of 
creatures,  lunnan  and  animal,  also  found  expression  in  the 
extensive  provision  of  relief  for  the  sick.  Arrangements 
for  the  healing  of  man  and  beast  were  provided  not  only 
tliroughout  all  provinces  of  the  empire,  but  also  in  the  friendly 
independent  kingdoms  of  Southern  India  and  Hellenistic 
Asia;  medicinal  herbs  and  drugs,  wherever  lacking,  being 
planted,  imported,  and  supplied  as  needed.^ 

The  animal  hospitals,  which  still  exist  at  Ahmadabad,  Animal 
Surat,  and  many  other  to^ns  in  Western  India,  may  be  sorat.^ 
regarded  as  either  survivals  or  copies  of  the  institutions 
founded  by  the  Maurya  monarch.  The  following  account  of 
the  Surat  hospital,  as  it  was  maintained  late  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  probably  would  have  been  applicable  with  little 
change  to  the  prototype  at  Pataliputra : — 

'  The  most  remarkable  institution  in  Surat  is  the  Banyan 
Hospital,  of  which  we  have  no  description  more  recent  than 
1780.  It  then  consisted  of  a  large  piece  of  ground  enclosed 
by  high  walls,  and  subdivided  into  several  courts  or  wards 
for  the  accommodation  of  animals.  In  sickness  they  were 
attended  with  the  greatest  care,  and  here  found  a  peaceful 
asylum  for  the  infirmities  of  old  age. 

'  When  an  animal  broke  a  limb,  or  was  otherwise  disabled, 
his  owner  brought  him  to  the  hospital,  where  he  was  received 
without  regard  to  the  caste  or  nation  of  his  master.  In 
17T2,  this  hospital  contained  horses,  mules,  oxen,  sheep, 
goats,  monkeys,  poultry,  pigeons,  and  a  variety  of  birds  ;  also 
an  aged  tortoise,  which  was  known  to  have  been  there 
seventy-five  years.  The  most  extraordinary  ward  was  that 
appropriated  for  rats,  mice,  bugs,  and  other  noxious  vermin, 
for  whom  suitable  food  was  provided. '  ^ 

These  hospitals  usually  are  so  administered  as  to  cause, 
perhaps,  more  suffering  than  they  prevent. 

1  Rock  Edict  II.  who    supported    the   hospital,   are 

2  Hamilton,  Description  of  lliii-  divided  between  the  Jain  and 
dostan  (18-20,  vol.  i,  p.  718,  4to  Vaishnava  religions,  both  of  which 
ed.  ;  Crooke,  Things  Indian,  art.  vie  with  Buddhism  in  an  exagger- 
'  Pinjrapole  '  (Murray,  (1906).  The  ated  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  ani- 
'  Banyan  ',    or    mercantile    castes,  mal  life. 


184,  ASOKA  MAURYA 

Foreign  The    active    official    propaganda    carried    on    by    various 

ganda.  agencies  throughout  the  empire  and  protected  states  did  not 
satisfy  the  zeal  of  Asoka;  who  burned  with  a  desire  to 
diffuse  the  blessings  of  both  his  ethical  system  and  distinctive 
Buddhist  teaching  in  all  the  independent  kingdoms  with 
which  he  was  in  touch ;  and  with  this  purpose  organized  an 
efficient  system  of  foreign  missions  worked  under  his  personal 
supervision,  the  results  of  which  are  visible  to  this  day.  His 
conception  of  the  idea  of  foreign  missions  on  a  grand  scale 
was  absolutely  original,  and  produced  a  well-considered  and 
successful  scheme,  carried  out  with  method  aiul  thoroughness 
in  conjunction  and  harmony  with  his  measures  of  domestic 
propaganda. 
Extent  of  Before  tlie  }'ear  S56  b.  c,  when  the  Rock  Edicts  were 
published  collectively,  the  royal  missionaries  had  been  dis- 
patched to  all  the  protected  states  and  tribes  on  the  frontiers 
of  the  empire,  and  in  the  wilder  regions  within  its  borders, 
to  the  independent  kingdoms  of  Southern  India,  to  Ceylon, 
and  to  the  Hellenistic  monarchies  of  Syria,  Egypt,  Cyrene, 
Macedonia,  and  Epirus,  then  governed  respectively  by 
Antiochos  Theos,  Ptolemy  Philadelphos,  Magas,  Antigonos 
Gonatas,  and  Alexander.  The  missionary  organization  thus 
embraced  three  continents,  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe. 
Protected  The  protected  states  and  tribes  brought  in  this  way  within 
tribes.  ^he  circle  of  Buddhist  influence  included  the  Kambojas,^  who 
lived  among  the  mountains  either  of  Tibet  or  of  the  Hindii 
Kush ;  various  Himalayan  nations ;  the  Gandhiiras  and 
Ya\anas  of  the  Kabul  valley  and  regions  still  farther  west ; 
the  Bhojas,  Pulindas,  and  Pitenikas  dwelling  among  the  hills 
of  the  Vindhya  range  and  Western  Ghats;  ^  and  the  Andhra 
kingdom  between  the  Krishna  and  Godavari  rivers. 

'  Nepalese  tradition  applies  the  ^  Pitenikas,  uncertain ;    Bhojas, 

name      Kaniboja-desa      to      Tibet  probably   in    Berar   (llichpur,   see 

(Foucher,  Ico)i»(/niphie  bonddhique,  Collins  on  Da^akunmracharita,  and 

p.  134).    But  modern  research  indi-  Bomb.  Gaz.  (18961,  vol.  i,  pt.  ii,  p. 

cates  tliat  the  Kambojas  spoke  an  27) ;  Pulindas,  among  the  Vindhya 

Iranian  tongue,  and  probably  should  hills  near  the  Narmada  (ibid.,  p. 

be  located  in  the  Hindu  Kush  raoun-  138).     But  the  term  Pulinda  was 

tains  (Grierson,  J.  R.  A.  .S.,  1911,  used  vaguely,  and  sometimes  meant 

p.  802).  Himalayan  tribes  J.  R.A.  S.,  1908, 

p.  315;. 


DRAVIDIAN  KINGDOMS  185 

The  Dravidian  peoples  of  the  extreme  south,  below  the  Southern 
fourteenth  degree  of  latitude,  being  protected  by  their  '"^  °° 
remoteness,  had  escaped  annexation  to  the  northern  empire. 
In  Asoka^s  time  their  territories  formed  four  independent 
kingdoms,  the  Chola,  Pandya,  Keralaputra,  and  Satiyaputra. 
The  capital  of  the  Chola  kingdom  probably  was  Uraiyur,  or 
Old  Trichinopoly,  and  that  of  the  Pandya  realm  doubtless 
was  Korkai  in  the  Tinnevelly  District.  The  Keralaputra 
state  comprised  the  Malabar  coast  south  of  the  Tuluva 
country,  and  probably  also  the  inland  districts  usually  assigned 
to  the  Chera  kingdom.  The  name  Chera  is  a  variant  form  of 
Kerala.  Tiie  Satiyaputra  covmtry  may  be  identified  with 
the  small  region  where  the  Tulu  language  is  spoken,  of  which 
Mangalore  is  the  centre.^  With  all  these  kingdoms  Asoka 
was  on  such  friendly  terms  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  send  his 
missionaries  to  preach  to  the  people,  and  even  to  found 
monasteries  in  several  places.  One  such  institution  was 
established  by  his  younger  brother  Mahendra  in  the  Tanjore 
District,  probably  then  included  in  the  Chola  kingdom,  where 
its  ruins  were  still  visible  nine  hundred  years  later.^ 

An  ancient  Chinese  writer  assures  us  that  ^  according  to  Princes  as 
the  laws  of  India,  when  a  king  dies,  he  is  succeeded  by  his 
eldest  son  {Kumdrardja) ;  the  other  sons  leave  the  family 
and  enter  a  religious  life,  and  they  are  no  longer  allowed 
to  reside  in  their  native  kingdom.^  ^  This  compulsory  with- 
drawal from  secular  affairs  did  not  necessarily  imply  the 
disappearance  of  the  younger  brother  into  obscurity.     The 

^  An  observation  of  Mr.  A.  G.  and  Madura,  and  spread  out  to- 

Swamin  seems  to  give  a  clue  to  the  wrards  the  west  coast  ('  Brahman 

name  Satiyaputra.     He  states  that  Immigration  into  Southern  India ', 

one  division   of  Tamil   Brahmans  Ind.  Ant.,  1912,  p.  231).     I  think 

known  as  '  Brihat-charann,''  or  the  that  the  Satiyaputra  of  Asoka  may 

'  Great  Immigration  ',  is  subdivided  be  the  same  as  the  Sathiamangalam. 

into  Maghanadu  and  Molagu  sec-  I  cannot  agree  with  Prof.  Bhandar- 

tions,  the  Maghanadu  being  again  kar  that  the  Satiyaputra  kingdom 

subdivided  into  Kandra-mdnlkkam,  should  be  placed  in  the  Ghats  near 

Mamjudi,     and     Sathiamanyalam,  Poona.   It  was  clearly  a  Tamil  realm, 

&c.,  all  villages  along  the  Western  and  I  believe  my  identification  to  be 

Ghats.    The  immigrants,  he  thinks,  correct. 

naturally  would  have  clung  to  the  "  Beal,  Records,  ii,  231;  Watters, 

highlands  and  peopled  the  skirts  of  ii,  228. 

the  present  province  of  Mysore,  the  ^  Ma-twan-lin,  cited  in  Ind.  Ant., 

districts  of  Malabar,  Coirabatore,  ix,  22. 


186  ASOKA  MAURYA 

church  in  India,  especially  Buddhist  India,  as  in  Roman 
Catholic  Europe,  offered  a  career  to  younger  sons,  and  the 
able  ecclesiastic  sometimes  attained  higher  fame  than  his 
royal  relative.  Mahendra's  assumption  of  the  yellow  robe, 
in  accordance  with  the  rule  above  stated,  Avas,  in  the  first 
instance,  probably  due  to  political  necessity  ratlier  than  to 
free  choice ;  but,  whatever  motive  may  have  led  him  to  adopt 
the  monastic  life,  he  became  a  devout  and  zealous  monk  and 
a  most  successful  missionary. 
Mahendra  When  Asoka  determined  to  extend  his  propaganda  to 
'  Ceylon,  he  selected  as  head  of  the  mission  liis  monk  brother, 
who  presumably  was  already  settled  at  his  monastery  in 
Southern  India,  and  thence  crossed  over  to  Ceylon  with  his 
four  colleagues.  The  teaching  of  the  preachers,  backed  as 
it  was  by  the  influence  of  a  monarch  so  powerful  as  Asoka, 
was  speedily  accepted  by  King  Tissa  (De^anampiya  Tissa)  of 
Ceylon  with  the  members  of  his  court,  and  the  new  religion 
soon  gained  a  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  people  at  large.^ 
Mahendra  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  Ceylon,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  establishment  and  organization  of  the  Buddhist 
church  in  the  island,  -where  he  is  revered  as  a  saint.  His 
ashes  are  said  to  rest  under  a  great  cupola  or  stupa,  called 
Ambustala,  at  Mihintale,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  among 
the  many  notable  Buddhist  monuments  which  are  the  glory 
of  Ceylon.^ 
Sinhalese  The  Mahavamsa  chronicle,  dating  from  the  beginning  of 
^^^^  '  the  sixth  century  after  Christ,  which  gives  a  list  of  Asoka's 
missionaries  and  the  countries  to  which  they  Avere  deputed, 
makes  no  mention  of  the  missions  to  the  Tamil  kingdoms  of 
Southern  India.  This  reticence  may  be  plausibly  explained 
by  the  fierce  hostility  between  the  Sinhalese  and  the  Tamils 
of  the  mainland,  Avhich  lasted  for  centuries.     If  Mahendra 

'  Don     M.     de     Zilva    Wickre-  ^  Mahendra  is  said  to  have  died 

inasinghe    assigns     the    reign     of  in  the  eighth  year  of  king  Uttiya, 

Devanariipiya  Tissa  to  the  period  younger  brother  and  successor  ot 

253-213   It.  c,  and   dates   his   sue-  Tissa.     Half  of  his  reUcs  were  en- 

cessor    Uttiya   213-203   u.  c.    {Ep.  shrined  near  the  Thuparama,  where 

Zeyl.,  vol.  i,  p.  81  .     Dates  in  the  the  funeral  took  place,  and  half  at 

early  history  of  Ceylon   are  only  Mihintale,  where  he  died, 
approximate. 


MISSIONS  187 

had  migrated  from  his  monastery  near  Tanjore  to  the  island, 
the  fact  would  have  been  most  distasteful  to  the  monks  of 
the  Great  Yihara,  who  would  have  been  vniwilliug  to  feel 
indebted  to  a  resident  among  the  hated  Tamils  for  instruction 
in  the  rudiments  of  the  faith,  and  would  have  preferred  that 
people  should  believe  their  religion  to  have  come  direct  from 
the  Holy  Land  of  Buddhism.  Some  such  motive  seems  to 
have  originated  the  Sinhalese  form  of  the  legend  of  Mahendra, 
Avho  is  represented  as  an  illegitimate  son  of  Asoka,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  followed  by  a  sister  named  Sanghamitra 
(^Friend  of  the  Order ^),  who  did  for  the  nuns  of  Ceylon  all 
that  her  brother  did  for  the  monks.  This  legend,  which  is 
overlaid  by  many  marvellous  inventions,  must  be  to  a  large 
extent  fictitious.^  The  presumably  true  version,  representing 
Mahendra  as  the  younger  brother  of  Asoka,  was  well  remem- 
bered at  the  imperial  capital  Pataliputra,  A\'here  Fa-hien,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  was  shown  the  hermitage 
of  Asoka's  saintly  brother ;  and  it  was  still  the  only  version 
knoM'n  to  Hiuen  Tsang  in  the  seventh  century.  Even  when 
the  latter  pilgrim  took  down  the  Sinhalese  legends  from  the 
lips  of  the  island  monks  whom  he  met  at  Kanchi,  he  applied 
the  stories  to  the  brother,  'not  to  the  son,  of  Asoka. ^ 

The  Mahavamsa  seems  to  err  also  in  attributing  to  Asoka  Alleged 
the  dispatch  of  missionaries  to  Pegu  {Sovanabhiimi).  No  Pe„u 
such  mission  is  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions,  and  it  is  very 
improbable  that  Asoka  had  any  dealings  with  the  countries 
to  the  east  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  His  face  was  turned 
westwards  towards  the  Hellenistic  kingdoms.  The  Ceylon 
form  of  Buddhism  appears  to  have  been  introduced  into 
Burma  and  Pegu  at  a  very  much  later  date;  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  earliest  Burmese  Buddhism  Mas  of 


^  I  used  to  reject  absolutely  the  .stilpa  ENE.  of  the  Thuparama  is 

story  of  Sanghamitra,  but  am  now  believed  to  have  once  contained  her 

disposed  to  admit  her  real  existence.  ashes  (Muhdvamsa,  ch.  20,  transl. 

If  Mahendra  was   the   brother  of  Geiger,  and  Wijesinha ;    Smither, 

Asoka,  she  probably  was  the  sister,  Archit.    liemaint,;    Anurddhapura, 

not    the    daughter   of   the    latter.  p.  9,  PI.  III). 

According  to   the  Mahdvamiia  her  ^  Beal, /?eco?Y^s  ii,  246 ;  Walters, 

death  occurred  in  the  ninth  year  of  ii,  230. 
the  reign  of  king  Uttiya.    A  ruined 


188 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


Missions 
to  Hel- 
lenistic 
kingdoms, 


Buddhism 
became 
a  world 
religion. 


The  work 
of  Asoka. 


the  Tantric  Mahayana  type,  imported  direct  from  Northern 
India  many  centuries  after  Asoka's  time.^ 

Unfortunately  no  definite  record  has  been  preserved  of 
the  fortunes  of  the  Buddhist  missions  in  the  Hellenistic 
kingdoms  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe ;  nor  are  the  names  of 
the  missionaries  known.  The  influence  of  Buddhist  doctrine 
on  the  heretical  Gnostic  sects  appears  to  be  undoubted ;  and 
nuuiy  writers  have  suspected  that  more  orthodox  forms  of 
Christian  teaching  owe  some  debt  to  the  lessons  of  Gautama; 
but  the  subject  is  too  obscure  for  discussion  in  these  pages.^ 

It  is,  however,  certain  that  Asoka,  by  his  com])rehensive 
and  well-planned  measures  of  evangelization,  succeeded  in 
transforming  the  doctrine  of  a  local  Indian  sect  into  one  of 
the  great  religions  of  the  w'orld.  The  personal  ministry 
of  Gautama  Buddha  was  confined  to  a  comparatively  small 
area,  comjirising  about  four  degrees  of  latitude  and  as  many 
of  longitude,  between  Gaya,  Allahabad,  and  the  Himalaya. 
Within  these  limits  he  was  born,  lived,  and  died.  When 
he  died,  about  487  B.C.,  Buddhism  was  merely  a  sect  of 
Hinduism,  unknown  beyond  ^ery  restricted  limits,  and  with 
no  better  apparent  chance  of  survival  than  that  enjoyed  by 
many  other  contemporary  sects  now  long-forgotten. 

The  effective  organization  of  the  monastic  system  by  the 
Buddhists  probably  Avas  the  means  of  keeping  their  system 
alive  and  in  possession  of  considerable  influence  in  the 
Gangetic  valley  for  the  two  centuries  and  a  quarter  which 
elapsed  between  the  death  of  Gautama  and  the  conversion 
of  Asoka.  His  imperial  patronage,  gradually  increasing  as 
his  faith  grew  in  intensity,  made  the  fortune  of  Buddhism, 
and  raised  it  to  the  position  which  enables  it  still  to  dispute 
with  Christianity  the  first  place  among  the  religions  of  the 
world,  so  far  as  the  numbers  of  believers  is  concerned. 

Asoka  did  not  attempt  to  destroy  either  Brahmanical 
Hinduism  or  Jainism  ;  but  his  prohibition  of  bloody  sacri- 
fices, the  preference  which  he  opeidy  avowed  for  Buddhism, 


*  Temple,  'Notes on  Antiquities 
in  Raraannadesa'  (Ind.  Ant.,  vol. 
xxii  lH9:i  ,  p.  333  :  and  my  article 
jbid.,  190.i,  p.  180,. 


^  See  Edmunds,  Buddhist  and 
Christian  Gospels,  4th  ed.,  Phila- 
delphia. 


THE  WORK  OF  ASOKA  189 

and  his  active  propaganda,  undoubtedly  brought  his  favourite 
doctrine  to  the  front,  and  estabUshed  it  as  the  dominant 
religion  in  both  India  and  Ceylon.  It  still  retains  that 
position  in  the  southern  island,  although  it  has  vanished 
almost  completely  from  the  land  of  its  birth,  and  has  failed 
to  retain  its  grasp  upon  many  of  its  distant  conquests. 

Still,  notwithstanding  many  failures,  fluctuations,  develop- 
ments, and  corruptions.  Buddhism  now  commands,  and  will 
command  for  countless  centuries  to  come,  the  devotion  of 
hundreds  of  millions  of  men.  This  great  result  is  the  work 
of  Asoka  alone,  and  entitles  him  to  rank  for  all  time  with 
that  small  body  of  men  who  may  be  said  to  have  changed  the 
faith  of  the  world. 

The  obvious  comparison  of  Asoka  with  Constantine,  which  Compari- 
has  become  a  commonplace,  is,  like  most  historical  parallels,  Constan- 
far  from  ex-act.     Christianity,  when  the  emperor  adopted  it  tme. 
as   the   state   creed,  was  already  a  power   throughout   the 
Roman  Empire,  and  Constantine's  adherence  was  an  act  of 
submission  to  an  irresistible  force  rather  than  one  of  patron- 
age to  an  obscure  sect.     Buddhism,  on  the  contrary,  when 
Asoka  accorded  to  it  his  invaluable  support,  was  but  one  of 
many  sects  struggling  for  existence  and  survival,  and  without 
any   pretension    to   dictate   imperial   policy.     His   personal 
action,   seemingly   prompted   and   directed   by   his   teacher 
Upagupta,  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  spread  of  the  doctrine 
beyond  the  limits  of  India  ;  and,  if  a  Christian  parallel  must 
be  sought,  his  work  is  comparable  with  that  of  Saint  Paul, 
rather  than  with  that  of  Constantine. 

Upagupta,  to  whom  the  conversion  of  Asoka  is  ascribed,  Upagupta. 
is  said  to  have  been  the  son  of  Gupta,  a  perfumer,  and  to 
have  been  born  at  either  Benares  or  Mathura.  Probably  he 
was  a  native  of  the  latter  city,  w^here  the  monastery  built 
by  him  still  existed  in  the  seventh  century.  Tradition  also 
associated  his  name  with  Sind,  in  which  country  he  is  said  to 
have  made  frequent  missionary  journeys.^ 

1  Beal,  Records,   i,    182  ;   ii,  88,  32.     The  identity  of  Tissa,  son  of 

273;   Watters,    Index,   s.v.,    Upa-  Moggali,  the   hero  of  the  Ceylon 

gupta  ;  Growse,  Mathura,  3rd  ed.,  tales,  with  the  real  personage  Upa- 

p.  142 ;  Cunningham,  Beports,  xx,  gupta  has  been  demonstrated  by 


dustrv, 


190  ASOKA  MAURYA 

Asoka's  The    vigorous   and    effective    action    taken    by   Asoka    to 

energy ,  pi-opagate  his  creed  and  system  of  morals  is  conclusive  proof 
of  his  absolute  honesty  of  purpose,  and  justifies  the  modern 
reader  in  giving  full  credence  to  the  devout  professions 
made  by  him  in  the  edicts.  ^  Work  I  must ',  he  observed, 
'  for  the  public  benefit ' ;  and  work  he  did.  The  world  still 
enjoys  the  fruit  of  his  labours ;  and  his  words,  long  lost,  but 
now  restored  to  utterance,  ring  with  the  sound  of  sincerity 
and  truth. 

and  in-  Asoka  was  a  hard-working  king,  as  unwearied  in  business 

as  Philip  II  of  Spain,  ready  to  receive  reports  ^  at  any  hour 
and  any  place ',  and  yet  dissatisfied  with  the  outcome  of  his 
industry.  'I  am  never',  he  laments,  'fully  satisfied  with  my 
exertions  and  dispatch  of  business.'  Probably  he  worked 
too  hard,  and  would  have  effected  still  more  if  lie  had  done 
less.  His  ideal  of  duty  was  high,  and,  like  the  Stoic  philo- 
sopher, he  was  bound  to  obey  the  law  of  his  nature,  and  to 
toil  on,  be  the  result  success  or  failure. 

Character  The  character  of  Asoka  must  be  deduced  from  his  words. 
The  style  is  of  the  man,  and  I  firmly  believe  that  the  edicts 
express  his  thoughts  in  his  own  words.  They  are  written  in 
a  st}'le  far  too  peculiar  and  distinctive  to  be  the  work  of 
a  Secretary  of  State,  and  are  alive  with  personal  feeling. 
No  secretary  would  have  dared  to  put  in  his  master's  mouth 
the  passionate  expressions  of  remorse  for  the  misery  caused 
by  the  Kalinga  war,  leading  up  to  the  resolve  to  eschew 
aggressive  warfare  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  the  declaration 
that  'although  a  man  do  him  aii  injury,  His  Majesty  holds 
that  it  must  be  patiently  borne,  as  far  as  it  possibly  can  be 
borne  '.^ 

The  edicts  reveal  Asoka  as  a  man  \\  ho  sought  to  combine 
the  piety  of  the  monk  with  the  wisdom  of  the  king,  and  to 
make  India  the  kingdom  of  righteousness  as  he  conceived  it, 
a  theocracy  without  a  God  ;  in  which  the  government  should 
act  the  part  of  Providence,   and  guide  the  people  in    the 

Lt.-Col,  WaddeUV.^i.^S.Zi.,  1897,  puta   of  the   Safichi  relic   caskets 

part  i,  p.  76;  Froc.  A.  S.  B.,  1899,  {Bhilsa  Topes,  pp.  115,  UO). 

p.  70  .    There  is  no  sufficient  reason  ^  Hock  Edict  XIII. 
to  identify  Tissa  with  the  Mogali- 


of  Asoka. 


THE  FAMILY  OF  ASOKA  1  91 

right  way.  E\ery  iiiuii,  he  inaintahied,  must  work  out  his 
own  salvation,  and  eat  the  fruit  of  his  deeds.  'The  fruit 
of  exertion  is  not  to  be  obtained  by  the  great  man  only; 
because  even  the  small  man  by  exertion  can  win  for  himself 
much  heavenly  bliss ;  and  for  this  purpose  was  given  the 
precept — "Let  small  and  great  exert  themselves '\'^  The 
government  could  only  point  out  the  road,  which  each  man 
must  travel  for  himself. 

Reverence,  compassion,  truthfulness,  and  sympathy  were 
the  virtues  which  he  inculcated ;  irreverence,  cruelty,  false- 
hood, and  intolerance  were  the  vices  which  he  condemned. 
The  preacher  was  no  mere  sermon-writer.  He  was  a  man 
of  affairs,  versed  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  war,  the  capable 
ruler  of  an  immense  empire,  a  great  man,  and  a  great  king. 

Asoka,  like  all  Oriental  monarchs,  was  a  polygamist,  and  Asoka's 
had  at  least  two  consorts,  who  ranked  as  queens.  The  name 
of  the  second  of  these  ladies,  Karuvaki,  is  preserved  in  a 
brief  edict  signifying  the  royal  pleasure  that  her  charitable 
donations  should  be  regarded  by  all  officials  concerned  as 
her  act  and  deed,  redounding  to  her  accumulation  of  merit. 
She  is  described  as  the  mother  of  Tlvara,  who  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  favourite  child  of  the  aged  emperor  at  the  time 
the  edict  was  issued,  late  in  his  reign. 

Tradition  avers  that  his  faithful  chief  queen  for  many  Legend  of 
years  was  named  Asandhimitra,  and  that  when  she  died,  and 
Asoka  was  old,  he  married  a  dissolute  young  woman  named 
Tishyarakshita  ;  concerning  whom  and  her  step-son  Kunala, 
the  old  folk-lore  tale,  known  to  the  Greeks  as  that  of 
Phaedra  and  Hippolytus,  is  related  with  much  imaginative 
embellishment.  But  folk-lore  is  not  history,  and  the  pathetic 
story  of  the  blinded  Kunala  must  not  be  read  or  criticized  as 
matter-of-fact  narrative.  The  legend  appears  in  diverse  forms 
with  various  names. 

Another  son  of  Asoka,  named  Jalauka,  who  plays  a  large  Legend  of 
part  in  Kashmir  tradition,  although  rather  a  shadowy  per- 
sonage, has  more  appearance  of  reality  than  Kunala.     He 
was  reputed   to   have  been  an  active  and  vigorous  king  of 
1  Minor  Rock  Edict  I  (Rupnath). 


192  ASOKA  MAURYA 

Kashmir,  uho  expelled  certain  intrusive  foreigners,  and 
conquered  the  plains  as  far  as  Kanauj.  He  M-as  hostile  to 
Buddhism  and  devoted  to  the  worship  of  Siva  and  the 
Divine  Mothers,  in  whose  honour  he  and  his  queen,  Isana- 
devi,  erected  many  temples  at  places  which  can  be  identified. 
The  story  of  Jalauka,  notwithstanding  the  topographical 
details,  is  essentially  legendary,  and  no  independent  corro- 
boration of  the  Kashmir  tradition  has  been  discovered.^ 

Da^ra-  Tivara,  the  son  mentioned  in  the  Queen's  Edict,  is  not 

tha  . 

heard   of    again,    and    may    have    predeceased    his    father. 

Dasaratha,  a  grandson  of  Asoka,  certainly  was  a  reality, 
being  known  from  brief  dedicatory  inscriptions  on  the  walls 
of  cave-dwellings  at  the  Nagarjuni  Hills,  which  he  bestowed 
upon  the  Ajivikas,  as  his  grandfather  had  done  in  the  neigh- 
bouring Barabar  Hills.  The  script,  language,  and  style  of 
Dasaratha's  records  prove  that  his  date  was  very  close  to 
that  of  Asoka,  whom  probably  he  directly  succeeded,  at  least 
in  the  eastern  provinces.  Assuming  this  to  be  the  fact,  the 
accession  of  Dasaratha  may  be  dated  in  232  b.  c.  His  reign 
appears  to  have  been  short,  and  is  allotted  (under  other 
names)  eight  years  in  two  of  the  Puranas. 
Samprati ;  The  existence  and  succession  of  Samprati,  another  grandson 
tradition*  "^  Asoka,  although  not  verified  by  epigraphic  record,  are 
vouched  for  by  a  considerable  body  of  tradition.  The 
Buddhist  prose  romance,  named  Asokdvaddna  (being  part  of 
the  Divyavaddna),  tells  a  long  story  of  Asoka's  senile  devo- 
tion to  the  church  and  consequent  waste  of  the  resources  of 
the  empire,  Avhich  went  so  far  that  the  ministers  were  com- 
pelled to  remove  him  from  power,  and  place  Samprati,  son  of 
the  blinded  Kunala,  on  the  throne.  We  are  not  told  what 
became  of  Asoka.  According  to  this  tale,  the  successors  of 
Samprati  were  Vrihaspati,  Vrishasena,  Pushyadharman,  and 
Pushyamitra,  the  last  being  described  as  of  Maurya  descent.^ 

^  Stein,  transl.  Rdjatarangbu,  An  inscription,  dated  1686  v.e.  = 
Bk.  i,  vv.  108-52.  One  of  the  con-  a.  n.  16i?2,  on  a  Jain  temple  at 
fused  Tibetan  traditions  assigns  Nadlai  in  tlie  Jodhpur  State,  Raj- 
eleven  sons  to  Asoka  (_Schiefner,  putana,  records  the  traditional  be- 
TCiram'dh,  p.  48 ;.  lief  that   the   original   edifice  had 

*  Burnouf,     Introd.,     2nd     ed.,  been  built  by  Samprati  fProy.  7?«(/:>., 

p.  384. ;  Schiefner,  Taranalli,p.  287.  A.  S.  W.I.,  1909-10,  p.  41). 


TRADITIONS  193 

Tlie  Juiii  literary  tradition  of  Western  India,  w  hicli  also  Jain 
recognizes  Samprati  as  the  ininiediate  successor  of  Asoka, 
eulogizes  him  as  an  eminent  patron  of  Jainism,  who  founded 
Jain  monasteries  even  in  non-Aryan  countries.  Almost  all 
ancient  Jain  temples  or  monuments  of  unknown  origin  are 
ascribed  by  the  popular  voice  to  Samprati,  who  is,  in  fact, 
regarded  as  a  Jain  Asoka.  One  author  describes  him  as 
being  the  sovereign  of  all  India  ('  lord  of  Bharata  with  its 
three  continents '),  holding  court  at  Pataliputra ;  but  other 
traditions  place  the  seat  of  his  government  at  Ujjain,  It  is 
obviously  impossible  to  reconcile  all  these  discrepant  tradi- 
tions, or  to  feel  assured  that  a  kernel  of  fact  can  be  extracted 
from  the  husk  of  legend.  The  concurrence  of  Buddhist  with 
Jain  tradition  may  be  accepted  as  good,  if  not  conclusive, 
evidence  that  Samprati  had  a  real  existence  in  the  flesh, 
although  nothing  certain  is  known  about  him.  Perhaps  the 
empire  was  divided  immediately  after  Asoka's  death,  between 
his  grandsons,  Dasaratha  taking  the  eastern,  and  Samprati 
the  western  provinces,  but  there  is  no  clear  evidence  to  support 
this  hypothesis.^ 

The  legends  of  Khotan  assert  a  connexion  between  that  Khotan 
kingdom  and  Asoka  in  more  ways  than  one.  According  to 
one  version  of  the  story  he  banished  certain  nobles  of  Taxila 
to  the  north  of  the  Himalaya  as  a  punishment  for  their  com- 
plicity in  the  wrongful  blinding  of  his  son  Kimala.  These 
exiles  elected  one  of  their  number  to  be  king,  who  reigned  in 
Khotan  until  he  was  defeated  by  a  rival  prince  exiled  from 
China.  Another  version  of  the  tale  asserts  that  the  earliest 
ancestor  of  the  royal  family  of  Khotan  was  the  prince  Kunala, 
Asoka's  son,  who  was  himself  exiled  from  Taxila.  These 
stories  seem  to  be  merely  mythological  explanations  of  the  fact 
that  the  ancient  civilization  of  Khotan  was  derived  from  both 
India  and  China.  It  is  not  likely  that  Asoka's  political  juris- 
diction should  have  extended  into  tlie  basin  of  the  Tarim.^ 

'  The  Jain  traditions  (PanVis/i/rt-  p.  1j.     The  lists  of  the  successors  of 

ixirvan,  ed.  Jacobi ;  &c.)  are  sum-  Asoka,  as  given  in  the  7^«7y7Hrt,v,  are 

raarized  conveniently  by  Bhagwan  hopelessly  confused  and  discrepant. 

Lfil   Indraji   and   Mr.    Jackson    in  -^  The  stories,  which  will  be  found 

liomh.  Qaz.,  vol.  i,  part  i     18!)()  ,  in   the  Life  and  Travels  of  Hiuen 


194- 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


Decline 
and  fall 
of  the 
Maurya 
dvnastv. 


Tlio  \vl)()le  duration  of  the  Maurya  dynasty,  according  to 
Puranic   authority,   was   137   years,    and    if   this    period    be 
accepted  and  reckoned  from  the  accession  of  Chandragupta 
in  322  B.C.,  the  dynasty  must  have  come   to   an   end   in 
185    B.C.,    which    date    certainly   is   approximately  correct. 
Four  princes  who,  according  to  the  Puranic  lists,  succeeded 
Asoka's  grandsons,  and  each  reigned  for  a   few  years,  are 
mere  names  ^ ;  and,  if  the  real  existence  of  Samprati  and  his 
successors  be  assumed,  they  are  equally  shadowy  personages. 
The  only  certainty  is  that   the   great   empire   founded    by 
Chandragupta.   and   gloriously  maintained   by  his   son    and 
grandson,  did  not  long  survive  the  latter.     The  fall  of  the 
Maurya   autbority   probably   was  due  in   large  measure  to 
a    reaction    promoted    by    the    Brahmans,    whose    privileged 
position   must  have  been  seriously  affected  by  the  extreme 
favour  which  Asoka  showed  to  the  Buddhist  monks.     The 
prohibition  of  bloody  sacrifices  and  the  irritating  proceedings 
of  the  Censors  must  have  produced  mucii  unrecorded  discon- 
tent, and  we  may  fairly  assume  that  when  the  strong  hand  of 
the  old  emperor  dropped  the  sceptre,  Brahman  influence  re- 
asserted itself  and  produced  a  revolt  against  the  inquisitorial 
tyranny  of    Asoka's    system.'^     The    descendants    of    Asoka 
whose  names  are  recorded  in  the  Puranas  probably  retained 
possession    of   only    Magadha    and    the   neighbouring   home 
provinces.     In  or  about  212  B.C.  one  of  those  descendants 
was  forced  to  bow  before  the  superior  power  of  Kharavela  the 
aggressive  Jain  king  of  Kalinga,  M'hich  had  thrown  off  the 
Maurya  yoke.^     Tiie  Andhra  protected   state,  between  the 
Krishna  and  Godavarl  rivers,  was  among  the  earliest  defec- 
tions, and  rapidly  grew  into  a  powerful  kingdom,  stretching 
right  across  India,  as  will  be  narrated  in  the  next  chapter. 


Tsang,  in  Rockhill's  Lifi'  of  Bnchlhn 
and  Sarat  Chandra  Das's  articles  on 
Tibetan  history,  are  summarized 
and  examined  by  Stein,  in  AncipDt 
Kliotan,  pp.  l.>6-()f). 

^  The  names  vary.  The  existence 
of  one  of  them,  namely  Saii^uka, 
is  confirmed  by  the  astronomical 
work,  the  Ch'n-tfi  Sfim/iifu,  which 
alludes  to  him  in   the   well-known 


historical  passage,  quoted  in  App.  I, 
/Hint. 

-  See  remarks  of  Maha.  H.  P. 
Sastri  in  J.  c^  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  1910, 
p.  2.W.  He  compares  the  case  of 
king  Palaka  of  Ujjain  in  the  ancient 
drama,  the  *  Toy-cart'. 

■  L'dayagiri  inscription  Liiders, 
/•>>.  /)hI.,  \,  App.  p.  100  . 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAURYAS  195 

The  last  king  of  the  hnperial  Maurya  liiie^  a  weak  pi-iiice 
named  Brihadratha,  was  treacherously  assassinated  hy  his 
commander-in-chief,  Pushyamitra. 

Descendants  of  the  great  Asoka  continued  as  uiu-ecorded  Local 
local  subordinate  Rajas  in  Magadha  for  nuvny  centuries;  the  w^l"^^'^ 
last  of  them,  and  the  only  one  whose  name  has  been  preserved, 
being  Purna-varman,  who  was  nearly  contemporary  with  the 
Chinese  pilgrim,  Hiuen  Tsang,  in  the  seventh  century.^ 

Petty  Maurya  dynasties,  apparently  connected  in  some 
unknown  way  with  the  imperial  line,  ruled  in  the  Konkan, 
between  the  Western  Ghats  and  the  sea,  and  some  other 
parts  of  Western  India,  during  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth 
centuries,  and  are  frequently  mentioned  in  inscriptions.^ 

*  Beal,    Records,    ii,    llrt,    174         rese  Districts,' :;3nd  ed.,  in  Bomhai/ 
Watters,  ii,  115.  Gazetteer,  vol.  i,  part  ii     18f)fi  ,  pp. 

"  Fleet,  '  Dynasties  of  the  Kana-      282-i. 


196 


ASOKA  MAURYA 


THE   MAURYA   DYNASTY 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 

(Nearly  exact  dates.) 


Year  b.  c.  Evext. 

'^-26  or  32.5      ,     Chandragupta  Maurya  in  hi.s  youth  met  Alexander  the 

Great. 
Sept.  or  Oct.,     Alexander  quitted  India. 

3-2.5 
Feb.,  3-2 i  .     .  '  Alexander,    while   in   Karmania,   received   news  of  the 
I      murder  of  his  satrap  Philippos,  in  India ;  and  placed 
I      Eudemos  and  Ambhi,  king  of  Taxila,  in  charge  of  the 
I      Indian  provinces. 
June,  323       .     Death  of  Alexander  at  Babylon. 
3:23-322     .     .     Revolt    of   Panjab   under   Chandragupta    Maurya,    and 

destruction  of  Xanda  dynasty  of  Magadha  ;  accession 

of  Chandragupta  Maurya  as  emperor  of  India. 
^521   ....     Second  partition  of  Alexander's  empire  at  Triparadeisos. 
.31,5  ....     Seleukos  Nikator  compelled  by  Antigonos  to  retire  to 

Egypt. 
312  ....     Recovery  of  Babylon  by  Seleukos. 
Oct.  1,  312     .     Establishment  of  Seleukidan  era. 
306  ....     Assumption  by  Seleukos  of  title  of  king. 
305  or  304      .     Invasion  of  India  by  Seleukos. 
303  ....     Defeat  of  Seleukos  by  Chandragupta ;  treaty  of  peace  ; 

cession  of  a  large  part  of  Ariana  by  Seleukos. 
303-301      .     .     March  of  Seleukos  against  Antigonos. 
302  ....     Megasthenes  ambassador  of  Seleukos  at  Pataliputra. 
301   .     .     .     .  !  Defeat  and  death  of  Antigonos  at  Ipsos  in  P'hrygia. 
298.     .     .     .  i  Accession  of  BindusaraAmitraghata  as  emperor  of  India. 
c.  296    .     .     .  '  Deimachos  ambassador  of  Seleukos  at  Pataliputra. 
285  ....  I  Ptolemy  Philadelphos,  king  of  Egypt,  ace. 
280  ....     Seleukos  Nikator,  king  of  Syria,  d.  ;  Antiochos  Soter,  his 

son,  ace. 
278  or  277      .     Antigonos   Gonatas,    king  of  Macedonia,    grandson   of 

Antiochos  I,  ace. 
272  ....     Alexander,  king  of  Epirus,  son  of  Pyrrhus,  and  opponent 

of  Antigonos  Gonatas,  ace. 
273.     .     .     .     Accession  of  Asoka-vardhana  as  emperor  of  India. 
269  ....     Coronation  (r/Wi/s/ieA-a    of  Asoka. 
261.  ....     Outbreak  of  First  Punic  War. 
261  .     .     .     .     Conquest  of  Kalinga  by  Asoka ;  Antiochos  Theos,  king 

of  Syria,  son  of  Antiochos  Soter,  ace. 
259  ....     Asoka   abolished   hunting,    instituted    tours   devoted   to 

works  of  piety,  and  dispatched  missionaries. 
258  ....     Magas,  king  of  Cyrene,  half-brother  of  Ptolemy  Phila- 

I      delphos,  died  ;  (?)  Alexander,  king  of  Epirus,  died. 
257  .     .     .     .''  Minor   Rock   Edict   I    and  Rock  Edicts   III   and   IV  of 

Asoka,  who  instituted  quinquennial  official  progresses 

for  propagation  of  Law  of  Piety  (dharma),  and  dedicated 

cave-dwellings  at  Barabar  for  tlie  use  of  the  Ajlvikas. 


CriROXOLOGICAL  TABLE 


197 


Year  b.  c. 


256 


"255  . 
?  25i 

219  . 


?  2  iS  .  . 
247  .  .  . 
2i7  or  2\() 

243  ..     . 

242  .     .     . 

242  or  23!) 
241  .     .     . 

? 240-232  . 
232  ,     .     . 


?  224 
?216 

?  206 

?199 
?191 
185  . 


Events. 


Publication  of  complete  series  of  Fourteen  Rock  Edicts, 

and  of  the  Kalinga  Borderers'  Edict  by  Asoka,  wiio 

appointed  Censors  of  the  Law  of  Piety  {dharmamafit'i- 

mdtnlh). 
Asoka  enlarged  for  the  second  time  the  stilpa  of  Konaka- 

mana  Buddha  near  Kapilavastu. 
Publication  by  Asoka  of  the  Kalinga  Provincials'  Edict. 
Dedication  by  Asoka  of  a  third  cave-dwelling  at  Barabar 

for  the  use  of  the  Ajlvikas. 
Pilgrimage  of  Asoka  to  Buddhist  holy  places  ;  erection  of 

pillars  at  Lumbini  Garden  and  near  a  ntfipa  of  Konfi- 

kamana  ;  (?)  his  visit  to  Xepfd,  and  foundation  of  Lalita 

Patan  ;  his  daughter  Charumati  becomes  a  nun. 
Declaration  of  independence  by  Bactria  and  Parthia. 
Ptolemy  Philadelphos,  king  of  Egypt,  died. 
Antiochos  Theos,  king  of  Syria,  grandson -of  Seleukos 

Nikator,  died. 
Composition  by  Asoka  of  Pillar  Edict  VI,  confirming  the 

Rock  Edicts'. 
Publication  by  Asoka  of  complete  series  of  Seven  Pillar 

Edicts. 
Antigonos  Gonata,  king  of  Macedonia,  died. 
Close  of   First    Punic    War;    rise   of  the   kingdom    of 

Pergamum. 
Minor  Pillar  Edicts  of  Asoka. 
Asoka  died:    Dasaratha     Ku^fda,    VCiyii   P.)    ace,   and 

dedicated  Nagarjuni  caves  to  the  Ajivikas  ;  break-up 

of  Maury  a  empire  began. 
Sangata  Maurya,  king  (Bandhupalita,  Vayu  P.). 
Sahsuka  Maurya,  king  (Indrapalita,  VdyuP.)',  ? defeated 

by  Kharavela  of  Orissa. 
Soma^arman  Maurya,  king  (Da^avarman,  or  Devavarman, 
,   Vdyu  P. ). 

Satadhanwan  Maurya,  king   Satadhanus,  Vdyu  P.). 
Brihadratha  Maurya,  king  (Brihadasva,  Vdyu  P.). 
Pushyamitra   Sunga,   ace,    having    slain    Brihadratha; 

final  destruction  of  Maurya  Empire.^" 


^  The  names  of  the  successors  of 
Asoka  are  taken  from  the  Vishnu 
Pnrdiia,  omitting  Suya^as,  for  the 
reasons  given  in  the  text.  Other 
names  are  given  in  Jain  books  and 
the  Buddhist  Anokdvaddna.  The 
Vdyu,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest 
of  the  Puranas,  gives  only  nine 
names  for  the  dynasty,  as  in 
brackets,  and  also  states  the  dura- 
tion of  each  reign.  The  approxi- 
mate dates  given  are  assigned  ac- 
cordingly, on  the  assumption  that 
the  reign  of  Asoka  lasted  for 
about  forty  or  forty-one  years. 
Its  duration,  according  to  the  ]\iyu 


Purdna,  was  thirty-six,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  Mahdiuuhm,  tliirty- 
seven  years,  both  of  which  periods 
probably  should  be  reckoned  from 
the  coronation.  The  Puranas  a- 
gree  in  assigning  137  years  to  the 
Maurya  dynasty,  but  the  total  of 
the  -lengths  of  reigns,  according  to 
the  Vdyu  Purdna,  is  only  133.  The 
difference  of  four  years  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  interval  be- 
tween the  accession  and  the  corona- 
tion of  Asoka.  For  further  details 
see  Pargiter,  Dynasties  of  tlie  Kali 
Aye.  The  variant  readings  are 
numerous. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  SUNGA,  KANVA,  AND  ANDHRA  DYNASTIES, 
185  B.C.  TO  A.D.  c.  225. 


r.  IS.i  ]t.c'. 

ILsurpa- 

tioii  of 

riishya- 

initra 

fSunga. 

Extent  of 

Sunpca 

dominions. 


The  Suxga  Dynasty. 

Pu8HYAMiTRA,  the  commai)der-in-chief,  having  shiin  his 
master  Brihadratha  Maurya,  usurped  tlie  vacant  throne,  and 
established  liiniself  as  sovereign  of  the  now  contracted 
Maurya  dominions;^  thus  founding  a  dynasty  known  to 
history  as  that  of  the  Sungas.- 

The  capital  presumably  continued  to  be,  as  of  old,  Patali- 
putra,  and  probably  all  the  central  or  home  provinces  of  the 
empire  recognized  the  usurper's  authority,  Mhich  perhaps 
extended  to  the  south  as  far  as  the  Narmada  river,^  and  may 
be  assumed  to  have  embraced  the  territories  in  the  Gangetic 
basin,  corresponding  with  the  modern  Bihar,  Tirhiit,  and  the 

^  The  Puranic  account  of  Pushya- 
niitra's  usurpation  is  confirmed  by 
liaua  (seventti  century  ,  who  evi- 
dently had  access  to  documents 
now  lost.  His  text  is :  PrafijTnl 
(lurhalam  cha  baladarmnavyapa- 
th'^a-dar.<if<ls'esha-sainyah  senanlr 
(ind)\i/<>  M(mri/am  Brihadrafham 
/lipe.'thfi  Vitslipamifrah  srainiiKuii- 
whicli  may  be  translated :  '  And 
reviewinpc  the  whole  army,  under 
the  pretext  of  showing  him  his 
forces,  the  base-born  (nidri/d  gen- 
eral Pushpamitra  crushed  his  )nas- 
ter,  Brihadratha  the  Maurya,  who 
was  weak  in  keeping  his  coronation 
oath  {pra/!j'ri(l}.  The  rendering 
combines  the  versions  of  Cowell 
and  Thomas  Ifdrnticariku  trnnsl. 
p.  li>:}  ,  of  Biililer  {Ind.  Ant.,  ii, 
'MY.\  ,  and  of  Jayasval.  The  best 
text  of  the  Puranas  (Pargiter, 
pp.  31,  70  states  simply  that  *  Push- 
yamitra,  the  commander-in-chief, 
will  uproot  Brihadratha  and  will 
rule  the  kingdom  as  king  36  years.' 

-  Manuscripts  usually  read  Push- 
pamitra,   but   Pushyamitra  is   the 


correct  form  (Biihler,  Ind.  Ant.,  ii, 
36-2  .  The  dynastic  name  Sunga 
is  attested  by  the  Puranas,  Bana 
(p.  193  ,  and  the  Barhut  '  Bharhut) 
inscription  beginning  with  Sugamtm 
raje,  '  during  the  reign  of  the 
!^iingas '  {Arch.  S.  W.  J.  v,  73  ;  Jnd. 
Ant.,  xiv,  138,  with  facsimile  , 

^  '  The  Queen  [of  Agnimitra, 
son  of  Pushyamitra]  has  a  brother 
of  inferior  caste,  Virasena  by  name ; 
he  has  been  placed  by  the  king  in 
command  of  a  frontier  fortress  on 
the  banks  of  the  MandakinI ' 
Introd.  to  J\ldlavik(l(/nitnif)rt). 
Mr.  Tawney  (transl.,  p.  6  notes 
that  '  the  MandakinT  here  probably 
means  the  Narmada  (Nerbudda). 
One  of  the  Bombay  manuscripts 
reads  the  Prakrit  equivalent  of 
Narmada '.  But  Mr.  Pargiter 
knows  only  two  rivers  named 
MandakinI,  namely,  one  in  the 
Banda  District  of  Bundelkhand, 
and  the  other,  a  southern  tributary 
of  the  Godavarl  {J.li.A.S.,  1894, 
p.  .?()()). 


INVASION  OF  MENANDER  199 

United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh.  It  is  unlikely  tiuit 
either  the  later  Mauryas  or  the  Sungas  exercised  any  juris- 
diction in  the  Panjfib.  Wilson's  belief  that  the  arms  of 
Pushyamitra  reached  the  Indus  was  due  to  a  misunder- 
standing.^ 

During  the  latter   years   of    his    reign,   the    usurper    was  <^-  1-55-3 
threatened  by  serious  danger.     Menander,  a  relative  of  the  invasion 

Bactrian  monarch  Eukratides,  and  kintj  of  Kabul  and  the  '"^"^  ^^\. 

.  .  .      pulse  or 

Panjab,  having  formed  the  design  of  emulating  the  exploits  Menander. 

of   Alexander,   advanced  with   a  formidable  force  into  the 

interior  of  India.     He  annexed  the  Indus  delta,  the  peninsula 

of  Surashtra  (Kathiawar),  and  some  other  territories  on  the 

western  coast ;  occupied  Mathuni  on  the  Jumna ;  besieged 

Madhyamika    (now    Nagari    near    Chitor)    in    Rajputana ; 

invested  Saketam  in  Southern  Oudh  ;  and  threatened  Patali- 

putra,  the  capital. 

The  invasion  Mas  repelled  after  a  severe  struggle,  and  the 
Greek  king  was  obliged  to  retire  to  his  own  country,  but  he 
may  have  retained  his  coiupiests  in  Western  India  for  a  few 
years  longer.^ 

Thus  ended  the  second  and  last  attempt  by  a  European  India  and 
general  to  conquer  India  by  land.  All  subsequent  invaders  """"P*^* 
from  the  western  continent  have  come  in  ships,  trusting  to 
their  command  of  the  sea,  and  using  it  as  their  base.  From 
the  repulse  of  Menander  in  or  about  153  B.C.  until  the  bom- 
bardment of  Calicut  by  Vasco  da  Gama  in  a.d.  1502  India 
enjoyed  immunity  from  attack  under  European  leadership ; 
and  so  long  as  the  power  in  occupation  of  the  country  retains 
connnand  of  the  sea,  no  attack  made  from  the  land  side  in 
the  footsteps  of  the  ancient  invaders  can  have  any  prospect 
of  permanent  success. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  with  Menander,  the  out-  Agnimi- 
lying  southern  provinces  extending  to   the   Narmada   river  ^j^^ 
were  administered  by  the  Crown  Prince,  Agnimitra,  as  viceroy,  Vidarbha. 
who  had  his  capital  at  Yidisa,  the  modern   Bhilsa  on   the 

»  Wilson,  Theatre  of  the  llindm,  ^  See  Appendix  I  at  end  of  this 

ii,353;  Cuimmgham, Xum.Chron.,       thapter,  'The  Invasion  of  Menan- 
1870,  p.  927,  der,  and  the  Date  of  Patanjali.' 


9100 


THE  SUNGA  DYNASTY 


yUi'ame- 
dha,  or 
horse- 
sacrifice. 


Yavanas. 


Betwfi  in  SincUiia's  territory.  Agiiimitru's  youthful  sou, 
Yasumitra,  was  employed  on  active  service  under  the  orders 
of  the  king,  his  grandfather.  Pushyamitra,  who  at  this 
time  must  have  been  advanced  in  years,  resolved  to  crown 
his  military  successes  by  substantiating  and  proclaiming 
a  formal  claim  to  the  rank  of  Lord  Paramount  of  Northern 
India.  His  pretensions  received  confirmation  by  the  success 
of  Agnimitra  in  a  local  Mar  with  his  southern  neighboiu",  the 
Kaja  of  Yidarbha  (Berfir),  which  resulted  in  the  complete 
defeat  of  the  Raja,  who  was  obliged  to  cede  half  of  his 
(lonrmious  to  a  rival  cousin;  the  river  Yarada  (Warda)  being 
constituted  the  boundary  between  the  two  principalities. 

Pushyamitra  determined  to  re\ive  and  celebrate  with 
appropriate  magnificence  the  antique  rite  of  the  horse- 
sacrifice  (asra/iiedha),  ^yhlch,  according  to  immemorial  tradi- 
tion, could  only  be  performed  by  a  paramount  sovereign, 
and  involved  as  a  preliminary  a  formal  and  successful  challenge 
to  all  rival  claimants  to  supreme  power,  delivered  after  this 
fashion  : — 

'  A  horse  of  a  particular  colour  Mas  consecrated  by  the 
performance  of  certain  ceremonies,  and  was  then  turned 
loose  to  M'ander  for  a  year.  The  king,  or  his  representative, 
followed  the  horse  M'ith  an  arm}',  and  M'hen  the  animal 
entered  a  foreign  country,  the  ruler  of  that  country  Mas 
bound  either  to  fight  or  to  submit.  If  the  liberator  of  the 
horse  succeeded  in  obtaining  or  enforcing  the  submission  of 
all  the  countries  over  M^hich  it  passed,  he  returned  in  triumph 
M-ith  all  the  vanquished  Rajas  in  his  train  ;  but,  if  he  failed, 
he  M'as  disgraced,  and  his  pretensions  ridiculed.  After  his 
successful  return,  a  great  festival  M'as  held,  at  which  the 
horse  M'as  sacrificed.^! 

The  command,  at  least  nominally,  of  the  guard  attendant 
on  the  consecrated  steed  liberated  by  Pushyamitra  was 
entrusted  to  his  young  grandson,  Yasumitra,  who  is  said  to 
have  encountered  and  routed  a  band  of  certain  Yavanas,  or 
M'estern  foreigners,  M'ho  took  up  the  challenge  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Sindhu,  Mhicli  now  forms  the  l)()undarv  between 


'  Dowsoii,    Classical   Diet.,  s.  v. 
Asvamedha.    See  also  Dr.  Barnett, 


Antiquities  of  India  (1913),  pp.  169- 
171. 


HORSE-SACRIFICE  201 

Bundelkhcuul  and  the  Rajputana  states.^  These  disputants 
may  have  been  part  of  the  division  of  Menander's  army  whieh 
had  undertaken  the  siege  of  Madiiyamika  in  Rfijputana. 

The  Yavanas  and  all  other  rivals  having  been  disposed  of  Celebra- 
in  due  course,  Pushyamitra  was  justified  in  his  claim  to  rank  sacrifice, 
as  the  paramount  power  of  Northern  India,  and  straiglitway 
proceeded  to  announce  his  success  by  a  magnificent  celebration 
of  the  sacrifice  at  his  capital.  The  dramatist,  who  has  so 
well  preserved  the  traditions  of  the  time,  professes  to  record 
the  very  Avords  of  the  invitation  addressed  by  the  victorious 
king  to  his  son  the  Crown  Prince,  as  follows : — 

^  May  it  be  well  witli  tliee  !  From  the  sacrificial  enclosure 
the  commander-in-chief  Pushpamitra  sends  this  message  to 
his  son  Agnimitra,  who  is  in  the  territory  of  Vidisa,  affec- 
tionately embracing  him.  Be  it  known  unto  thee  that  I, 
having  been  consecrated  for  the  Rdjasili/a  sacrifice,'-^  let  k)ose 
free  from  all  check  or  ciu'b  a  horse  which  was  to  be  brought 
back  after  a  year,  appointing  Vasumitra  as  its  defender,  girt 
with  a  guard  of  a  hundred  Rajputs.  This  very  horse 
wandering  on  the  right  [or  "  south  ^']  bank  of  the  Sindhu 
was  claimed  by  a  cavalry  squadron  of  the  Yavanas.  Then 
there  was  a  fierce  struggle  between  the  two  forces.  Then 
Vasumitra,  the  mighty  bowman,  having  overcome  his  foes, 
rescued  by  force  my  excellent  horse,  which  they  were 
endeavouring  to  carry  off.  Accordingly,  I  will  now  sacrifice, 
having  had  my  horse  brought  back  to  me  by  my  grandson, 
even  as  Ansumat  brought  back  the  horse  to  Sagara.  There- 
fore, you  must  dismiss  anger  from  your  mind,  and  without 
delay  come  with  my  daughters-in-law  to  behold  the  sacrifice.'  -^ 

1  Not  the  Indus.  i,  pp.   348-53,  and  Sylvain   Levi, 

2  The  rcijasili/a  was  a  ceremony  TJiMtre  hidien,  pp. 166-70).  It  has 
of  consecration  of  a  king.  The  full  been  edited  by  Tullberg  Bonn, 
ritual  lasted  for  twelve  months.  1840),  and  translated  into  English 
It  is  explained  in  detail  by  R.  L.  by  Tawney  (Calcutta,  1875),  into 
Mitra  in  J.A.S.B.,  part  i,  vol.  xlv  German  by  Weber  (Berlin,  1856), 
(1876),  pp.  386-98;  and  by  Dr.  and  twice  into  French,  first  by 
Barnett,  Antiquifies  of  India  (1913),  Foucaux,  and  later  by  Victor  Henry 
p.  167.  (Paris,  1877,  1889  .     The  historical 

3  Mdlavikdgnimitra,  'The  Story  tradition  seems  to  be  authentic, 
of  Malavika  and  Agnimitra,'  Act  v,  Kalidasa,  the  author,  probably  lived 
transl.  Tawney,  p,  78,  with  the  during  the  Gupta  period  in  the  fifth 
substitution  of  the  word  'forces'  century.  For  the  Sagara  legend 
for  '  hosts ',  which  is  not  suitable.  see  Dowson,  Classical  Dictionary , 
Abstracts  of  the  plot  are  given  by  s.  v. 

Wilson  {Theatre  of  the  Hindus,  vol. 


^02 


THE  SUNGA  DYNASTY 


Patanjali. 


Beginning 
of  Brah- 
nianical 
reaction. 


Pushya- 
mitra 
alleged  to 
be  a  per- 
secutor. 


Persecu- 
tions in 
India. 


Tlie  performance  of  the  solemn  rite  probably  was  witnessed 
by  the  celebrated  grammarian  Patanjali^  who  alludes  to  the 
event  in  terms  which  imply  that  it  occurred  in  his  time. 

The  exaggerated  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  animal  life, 
^^•hich  was  one  of  the  most  cherished  features  of  Buddhism, 
and  the  motive  of  Asoka's  most  characteristic  legislation,  had 
necessarily  in\  olved  the  prohibition  of  bloody  sacrifices,  which 
are  essential  to  certain  forms  of  Brahmanical  worship,  and 
were  believed  by  the  orthodox  to  possess  the  highest  saving 
efficacy.  The  memorable  horse-sacrifice  of  Pushyamitra 
marked  an  early  stage  in  the  Brahmanical  reaction,  which 
was  fully  developed  five  centuries  later  in  the  time  of  Samu- 
el ragupta  and  his  successors. 

If  credit  may  be  given  to  the  semi-mythological  stories  of 
Buddhist  writers,  Pushyamitra  was  not  content  with  the 
peaceful  revival  of  Hindu  rites,  but  indulged  in  a  savage 
persecution  of  Buddhism,  burning  monasteries  and  slaying 
monks  from  Magadha  to  Jalandhar,  in  the  Panjab.  Many 
monks  who  escaped  his  sword  are  said  to  have  fled  into  the 
territories  of  other  rulers.  It  would  be  rash  to  reject  this 
tale  as  wholely  baseless,  although  it  may  be  exaggerated.^ 

But,  although  the  alleged  proscription  of  Buddhism  by 
Pushyamitra  is  supported  by  some  evidence,  it  is  true  that 
the  gradual  extinction  of  that  religion  in  India  was  due  in 
the  main  to  causes  other  than  persecution ;  while  it  is  also 
true  that  from  time  to  time  fanatic  kings  indulged  in  savage 
outbm-sts  of  cruelty,  and  committed  genuine  acts  of  persecu- 
tion directed  against  Jains  or  Buddhists  as  such.  Well- 
established  instances  of  such  proceedings  will  be  met  with  in 
the  course  of  this  history,  and  others,  which  do  not  come 
within  its  limits,  are  on  record.  That  such  outbreaks  of 
\vrath  should  have  occurred  is  not  \^•()nderful,  if  we  consider 
the  extreme  oppressiveness  f)f  the  Jain  and  Buddhist  pro- 
hibitions when  ruthlessly  enforced,  as  they  certainly  were  by 
some  Rajas,  and  probably  by  Asoka.     The  wonder  rather  is 


'  Taranath,  Schiefner's  transl., 
p.  81  ;  JJlryOvaddiia  in  Burnouf, 
Intruduclion ,     2nd    ed.,     p.     381'. 


Taranath  represents  Pushyamitra 
as  a  BrJhnian,  the  domestic  priest 
{purohU)  of  a  certain  king. 


THE  LATER  SUNGAS  203 

that  persecutions  were  so  rare^  and  that  as  a  rule  tlie  various 
sects  manat^ed  to  li\e  together  in  liarniony,  and  in  the 
enjoyment  of  fairly  impartial  official  favour.^ 

AVlien  Pushyamitra^  some  five  years  subsequent  to  the  mj*?  l*/' 
retreat  of  Menander^  died^  after  a  long  and  e\entful  reign,  Sungas. 
he  Avas  succeeded  by  his  son  the  Crown  Prince,  Agnimitra, 
who  had  governed  the  soutiiern  provinces  during  his  father's 
lifetime.  He  reigned  but  a  few  years,  and  was  succeeded 
l)y  Vasujyeshtha,  or  Sujyeshtha,  probably  a  brother,  M'ho  was 
followed  seven  years  later  by  A'asumitra,  presumably  that  son 
of  Agnimitra  who  as  a  youth  had  guarded  the  sacrificial 
horse  on  behalf  of  his  aged  grandfather.  The  next  four 
reigns  are  said  to  have  been  abnormally  short,  amounting 
together  to  only  seventeen  years.  The  inference  that  the 
extreme  brevity  of  these  reigns  indicates  a  period  of  confusion 
during  which  palace  revolutions  were  frequent  is  confirmed 
by  the  one  incident  of  the  time  which  has  survived  in  tradi- 
tion. Sumitra,  another  son  of  Agnimitra,  who  was,  we  are 
told,  inordinately  devoted  to  the  stage,  was  surprised  w'hen 
in  the  midst  of  his  favourite  actors  by  one  Mitradeva,  who 
'  severed  his  liead  with  a  scimitar,  as  a  lotus  is  shorn  from  its 
stalk  '.^  The  ninth  king,  Bhagavata,  is  credited  M'ith  a  long 
reign  of  thirty-t^AO  years,  but  we  know  nothing  about  him. 
The  tenth  king,  De\'abhuti  or  Devabhumi,  was,  we  are 
assured,  a  man  of  licentious  liabits,  and  lost  his  life  while 
engaged  in  a  discreditable  intrigue.     The  dynasty  thus  came 

^  The  reality  of  religious  persecu-  recorded  in  Khotan  annals,  shortly 

tion  of  Buddhism  in  India,  denied  before  a.  d.  741  (ibid.,  pp,  243-5; 

by  Rhys  Davids  (/.  Pali  Text  Soc,  Sarat   Chandra    Das,   /.  A.  S.  B., 

1896,   pp.   87-9^),   is    affirmed   by  pt.    I,   1886,   p.    200).     A   terrible 

Hodgson,     Sewell,    and     Waiters  persecution  of  the  cognate  religion 

(ibid.,  pp.  107-10).    The  instance  of  Jainism  occurred  in  Southern  India 

Sasanka,  described  by  the  nearly  i"  the  seventh  century  (Elliot,  Coins 

contemporary  Hiuen  Tsang  (Beal,  of  Sotdhern  Indm ,  p.  126;  post,  ch. 

Records,  i,  212;  ii,  42,  91,  118,  121  ,  ^'■'^^  sec.  2).     Ajayadeva,  a  'Saiva 

is  fully  proved.     The  case  against  kingof  Gujarat  (a.  d.  11 74-6),  began 

Mihirakula  is  almost  as  strong.     In  his  reign  by  a  merciless  persecution 

ancient  times    Tibet  and   Khotan  oi  the  Jains,  torturing  their  leader 

were  closely  connected  with  India.  to  death'  (Archaeol.  S.  W.L,  vol. 

Tibetan  history  records  a  persecu-  ix,  p.  16).    Several  other  weU-estab- 

tion  of  Buddhism  by  king  Glang  hshed  instances  of  severe  persecu- 

Darma(Langdarraa),  about  a.  d.  840  tion  might  be  cited. 
(Rockhill,  Life  of  the  Buddha,  pp.  ^  Buna,     Ilarm-carita,    ch.     vi ; 

2^26,  243),  and  a  similar  event  is  Cowell  and  Thomas,  transl.,  p.  192. 


fiOi 


THE  KANVA  DYNASTY 


U)  ail  iinhonoured  end  after  having  occui)icd  the  throne  tor 
a  hundred  and  twelve  years.^ 


r.  73  i(.  c. 
Vasudeva 
Kanva. 


r.  (j;}-28 
n.  c. 

The  later 
Kanvas. 


The  Kdnva  or  Kdnvayana  Dynasty. 

The  plot  whieh  cost  the  royal  debauehee,  Devabhuti,  his 
throne  and  life  was  contrived  by  his  Brahman  minister 
Yasudeva,  who  seems  to  have  controlled  the  state  even 
durini^  the  lifetime  of  his  nominal  master.^  Mitradeva, 
the  slayer  of  Prince  Sumitra,  probably  belonged  to  the  same 
powerful  family,  which  is  known  to  history  as  that  of  the 
KanvaSj  or  Kanvayanas.  Tiie  distinct  testimony  of  both  the 
Purfinas  and  Buna  that  Devabhfiti,  tlie  tenth  and  last  Sunga, 
was  the  person  slain  by  Yasudeva,  the  first  Kanva,  forbids  the 
acceptance  of  Professor  Bhandarkar's  theory  that  the  Kanva 
dynasty  should  be  regarded  as  contemporary  M'ith  the  Sunga."^ 

Yasudeva  seized  the  throne  rendered  vacant  by  his  crime, 
and  was  succeeded  by  three  of  his  descendants.  The  whole 
dynasty,  comprising   four   reigns,  covers  a  period  of   only 


1  The  '  Mitra '  coins,  of  several 
kinds,  found  in  Oiidh,  Rohilkhaml, 
Gorakhpur,  &c.,  sometimes  as- 
sumed to  belong  to  the  Sungas, 
cannot  be  utilized  safely  as  docu- 
ments for  that  dynast}^  Only  one 
name  on  the  coins,  that  of  Agnirai- 
tra,  agrees  with  the  Puranic  lists. 
For  detailed  descriptions  see 
Carllevle  and  Rivett-Carnac,  J.  A. 
.S. /i.,"l88(),  pt.  i,  pp.  i31-8,  87-90, 
with  plates  ;  Cunningham,  Coins  of 
Ancient  Indht,  pp.  (*!),  74-,  79,  93; 
(Jatal.  of  Coins  in  I.  M.,  vol.  i, 
p.  184. 

,  The  most  authentic  version  of  the 
Sunga  history,  according  to  the 
Puranas,  as  translated  from  the 
eclectic  text,  is  as  follows  : — 

'  Pusyarnitra  the  c-ommander-in- 
chief  will  ujiroot  Brhadratha  and 
will  rule  tiie  kingdom  as  king  3(i 
years.  Ills  son  Agnimitra  will 
be  king  8  years.  Vasujyestha 
will  be  king  7  years.  Ills  son 
Vjisumitra  will  be  king  10  years. 
Then  his  son  Andhraka  will  reign 
2  years.  Pulindaka  will  then  reign 
!i  years.     Ills  son   Ghosa  will   be 


king  3  years.  Next  Vajramitra 
will  be  king  9  years.  Bhagavata 
will  be  king  32  years.  His  son 
Devabhumi  will  reign  10  years. 
These  ten  Sunga  kings  will  enjoy 
this  earth  full  112  years.  From 
them  the  earth  will  pass  to  the 
Kanvas  '  (Pargiter,  Dynasties  of  the 
Knll  Aye,  pp.  30,  70.  Variant 
readings  are  given  in  the  notes). 
The  details  of  the  length  of  reigns 
do  not  agree  with  the  total,  112. 

^  '  In  a  frenzy  of  passion  the  over- 
libidinous  Cunga  was  at  the  instance 
of  his  minister  Vasudeva  reft  of  his 
life  by  a  daughter  of  Devabhiiti's 
slave-woman  disguised  as  his  queen' 
(Baua,  llarsa-carlta,*iA\.  vi,  transl. 
Cowell  and  Thomas,  p.  193\  'The 
minister  \'asudeva,  forcibly  over- 
throwing the  dissolute  king  Deva- 
bhumi because  of  his  youth,  will 
become  king  among  the  Sungas ' 
(, Pargiter,  p.  71). 

^  E.  J 1 1st.  of  JJekkan,  2nd  ed.  in 
Bomh.  Gaz.,  vol.  i,  pt.  ii,  p.  163. 
I  adopted  this  theory  in  my  '  Andhra 
Dynasty'  Z.  1).  M.  G.,  1902,  p. 
6.58;— but  now  reject  it. 


THE  KANVA  KINGS  205 

forty-five  years. ^  The  ti<>-ures  iucUcute,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Suiigas,  that  tlie  times  M'ere  disturbed,  and  that  succession 
to  the  throne  was  often  effected  by  violent  means.  Nothinc^ 
whatever  is  known  about  the  reigns  of  any  of  the  Kanva 
kings.  The  last  of  them  was  slain  about  28  or  27  n.c.  by  a 
king  of  the  Andhra  or  Sfitaviihana  dynasty,  which  at  that 
time  possessed  wide  dominions  stretching  across  the  table- 
land of  the  Deccan  from  sea  to  sea.  Although  no  coins  or 
monuments  connecting  the  Andhra  kings  with  Pfitaliputra, 
the  ancient  imperial  capital,  have  yet  been  discovered,  it  is 
possible  that  they  may  have  controlled  the  kingdom  of 
Magadha  for  a  time.  The  most  ancient  coins  of  the  dynasty 
at  present  known  are  of  northern  tjpe,  and  bear  the  name 
of  Sata,  probably  Satakarni,  the  sixth  king  in  the  Puranic 
list,  who  was  reigning  about  150  b.c.  The  Andhra  coinage 
from  first  to  last  has  many  obvious  affinities  with  the  mint- 
ages of  the  north,  which  may  be  explained  by  the  hypothesis 
that  the  dynasty  really  held  Magadha  as  a  dependency  for 
a  considerable  period.  But  there  is  little  evidence  to  support 
such  a  conjecture.^ 

The  Puranas  treat  the  whole  Andhra  dynasty  as  following  Identity 
the  Kanva,  and  consequently  identify  the  slayer  of  the  last  ^^dhra 
Kanva   prince   with    Sinuika    or   Sipraka,  the   first  of   the  king. 
Andhra   line.     But,   as   a   matter  of  fact,   the   independent 
Andhra  dynasty  must  have  begun  about  240   or  230  B.C., 
long  before  the  suppression  of  the  Kanvas  about  28  b.c,  and 
the  Andhra  king  who  slew  Susarman  cannot  possibly  have 
been  Simuka.     It  is  impossible  to  affirm  with  certainty  who 

'  The  Puranic  text  is  : —  and  will  be  righteous.     In  succcs- 

'  He  [scil.  Vasudeva],  the  Kanva-  .sion  to  them  the  earth  will  pass  to 

yana,  will  be  king  9  years.     His  the    Andhras'    (Pargiter,    p.    71; 

son  Bhumimitra  will  reign  14  years.  variants  in  the  notes).    The  details 

His   son   Narayana  will    reign   12  of  the  length  of  reigns  agree  with 

years.    His  son  Susarraan  will  reign  the  total,  45. 

10  years.  ^  See  the  author's  paper  on  the 

,  These   are   remembered   as   the  '  Andhra  Coinage  '  in  Z.  J).  ]\l.  O. , 

Sungabhrtya  [scU.  servants  of  the  1903,  pp.  605-27.   An  ancient  Tamil 

Sungas]  Kanvayana  kings.    These  poera,  the  ChUappathlkdram,  men- 

4.  Kanva  brahmans  will  enjoy  the  tions  the  visit  of  a  Chera  prince  to 

earth  •  for  45  years  they  will  enjoy  a    Satakarna    king    of    Magadha 

this   earth.      They   will   have   the  (V.  K.  Pillai,  The  Tamils  Elyhlnen- 

neighbouring  kings   in    subjection  hundred  Years  Ago,  p.  6). 


206  THE  ANDHRA  DYNASTY 

lie  was^  because  the  dates  of  accession  of  the  several  Audhra 
princes  are  not  known  with  accuracy.  All  that  can  be 
affirmed  at  present  is  that  the  slayer  of  Susarnian,  the  last 
Kanva,  apparently  must  have  been  one  or  other  of  three 
Andhra  kings,  namely  Nos.  11,  12,  or  13.  The  year  28  b.  c. 
may  be  accepted  as  the  approximately  true  date  of  the 
extinction  of  the  Kanva  dynasty ;  because  it  depends,  not  on 
the  duration  assigned  to  each  se\"eral  Andhra  reign,  but  on 
the  periods  of  112  and  45  years  respectively  allotted  to  the 
Sunga  and  Kanva  dynasties,  which  seem  worthy  of  credence ; 
and  this  date,  28  B.C.,  apparently  must  fall  within  the  limits 
of  one  or  other  of  the  three  Andhra  reigns  named  above.^ 

Andhra  or  Andhra  Dynastij. 
Earliest  Before  proceeding  to  narrate  the  history  of  the  Andhra 

oTthe""     kings  after  the  extinction  of  the  Kanva  dynasty  we  must 
Andhras.    cast  back  a  glance  to  the  more  distant  past,  and  trace  the 
steps  by  which  the  Andhra   kingdom  became  one  of   the 
greatest  powers  in  India. 
:jo()  n.  c.  In  the  days  of  Chandragupta  Maurya  and  Megasthenes, 

the  Andhra  nation,  a  Dravidian  people,  now  represented  by 
the  large  population  speaking  the  Telugu  language,  occupied 
the  deltas  of  the  Godavari  and  Krishna  (Kistna)  rivers  on  the 
eastern  side  of  India,  and  was  reputed  to  possess  a  militar}^ 
force  second  only  to  thtit  at  the  command  of  the  king  of  the 
Prasii,  Chandragupta  Maurya.  The  Andhra  territory  in- 
cluded thirty  walled  towns,  besides  numerous  villages,  and 
the  army  consisted  of  100,000  infantry,  2,000  cavahy,  and 
1,000  elephants.-  The  capital  of  the  state  is  believed  to 
lune  been  then  Sri  Kakulam,  on  the  lower  course  of  the 
Krishna.^' 

'  Close     of     Maurya     dynasty,  be    made   by    readers   desirous   of 

'■.  185   «.  c.  ;    from    which    deduct  examining  in  detail  the  sources  of 

1 1  -i  +  4.5  =  157,  leaving  28.  Andhra  history. 

2  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  Hook  vi,  2\,  3  Burgess,  'The  Stupas  of  Ama- 

2i,  ^3,  from  information  probably  ravatland  Jaggayapeta,'./.  ^'.  ^'. /., 

supplied    by    Megasthenes.       The  p.  3  referring  to  Wilson,  Mackmzie 

passage  is   fully  discussed   in  the  MSS.,  vol.  i,  introd.  p.  cxvii,  and 

author's  monograph,  '  Andiira  His-  Campbell,  Tehu/u  Grammar,  introd. 

lory    and    Coinage'     Z.  J).  M.  (•'.,  p.  ii  .     The  site  of  the  ancient  town 

J!»()J,  l!)();j  ,  to  which  reference  mav  N.  lat.  -'0  :28',  E.  long.  85' 55'    has 


THE  EARLY  ANDIIRAS  207 

The  nation  thus  described  evidently  was  independent,  and 
it  is  not  known  at  what  time,  in  the  reign  of  either  Chandra- 
gupta  or  Bindusara,  the  Andhras  were  compelled  to  sul)mit 
to  the  irresistible  forces  at  the  command  of  tbc  Maurya 
kings  and  recognize  the  suzerainty  of  Magadha. 

When  next  mentioned  in  Asoka's  edicts  (256  b.c.)  they  were  2.^<'  "•  ^• 
enrolled  among  the  tribes  resident  in  the  outer  circle  of  the  tributary 
empire,  subject  to  the  imperial  command,  although  doubtless  to  Asoka. 
enjoying  a  considerable  degree  of  autonomy  under  their  own 
Raja.^     The  withdrawal  of  the  strong   arm   of  Asoka   was 
the  signal  for  the  disruption  of  his  vast  empire.     While  the 
home  provinces  continued  to  obey  his  feeble  successors  upon 
the  throne  of  Pataliputra,  the  distant  governments,  including 
Kalinga,  which   he   had   taken  so   much   trouble   to   annex, 
shook  off  the  imperial  yoke  and  reasserted  their  independence. 

The   Andhras  were   not  slow  to  take  advantaiiie  of  the  '"•  2*^*'  °'" 

230  B  c. 
opportunity  given  by  the  death  of  the  great  emperor,   and  Kings 

very  soon  after  the  close  of  his  reign,  or  possibly  even  before  Simuka 

its  close,  set  up  as  an  independent  power  under  tlie  govern-  Krishna. 

ment  of  a  king  named  Simuka.     The  new  dynasty  extended 

its  sway  with  such  extraordinary  rapidity  that,  in  the  reign 

of  the  second  king,  Krishna  (Kanha),  the  town  of  Nasik, 

near  the  source  of  the  Godavari  in  the  Western  Ghfits,  was 

included    in   the   Andhra   dominions,   which   thus   stretched 

across  India. 

A  little  later,  the  third  king,  Sri  Satakarni,  who  is  de-  ''■^]^  "•  '^• 

scribed  as  Lord  of  the  West,  was  defied  by  Kharavela,  king  vela. 

of  Kalinga  in  the  east,  which  kingdom  also  had  reco\ered  its 

independence  after  the  death  of  Asoka.^ 

been  cut  away  by  the  river  (Rea,  kingof'KaHnga,  has  been  the  subject 

Proc.    Govt.   Madras,  Public,   No.  of  much  discussion,  and  archaeolo- 

423,  dated  June  18,  1899\  gists  used  to  beheve  erroneously  that 

^  'And    likewise    here,    in    the  it  was  dated  in  the  year  165  of  the  u,^" 

king's  dominions,  among  the  Yonas  Maurya  era.     The  latest  and  most  *       ,'  ■,  - 

and  Kambojas,  in    ?  i  Nabhaka  of  authoritative  account  of  the  muti-  ^■- ' 

the  Nabhitis,  among  the  Bhojas  and  lated    document    is    the    abstract       ^  .    --■  , 

Pitinikas,  among  the  Andhras  and  translation     published     by     Prof.       \i*^'' \j  J^"' 

Pulindas,   everywhere   men   follow  Liiders  in  Ep.  Ind.,  vol.  x,  App.,  *.  ^^ 

the  Law  of  Piety  as  proclaimed  by  p.  160.     We  learn  that  Kharavela, 

His  Majesty '  (Rock  Edict  XII).  surnamed  Maha  Meghavahana,  the 

'  The  Udayagiri  or  Hathigumpha  third  of  the  Cheta  dynasty  of  Ka- 

inscription  of  Kharavela,  the  Jain  linga,  was   anointed  as   Maharaja 


208  THE  ANDHRA  DYNASTY 

r.  28  or  27      Nothin<i^  more  is  heard  of  the  Aiulhra  kint^s  until  one  of 
B.C.  Ex-    j.],(,,^i    jjg  j^ijove  related,  in  or  about  28  b.c,  slew  the  last  of 

tinc'tion  ^  ^  \ 

of  Kanva    the  Kanvas,  and  no  doid)t  annexed  the  territory,  whatever  it 
y"as  y.     ^^^,^^,  j^^^,^  been,  which  still  recognized  the  authority  of  that 
dynasty.     The  Andhra  kini^s  all  claimed  to  belong   to  the 
Siita\ahana  family,  and  many  of  them  assumed  the  title  or 
bore  the  name  of  Satakarni.     They  are  consequently  often 
referred  to  by  one  or  other  of  these   designations,  Mitiiout 
mention  of  the  personal  name  of  the  monarch,  and  it  is  thus 
sometimes  impossible  to  ascertain  which  king  is  alluded  to. 
As  already  observed,  tiie  real  name  of  the  slaj'er  of  Susarman 
Kanva  is  not  known. 
King  Hala      The  name  of  Hala,  the  seventeenth  king,  by  virtue  of  its 
Prakrit      association  with  literary  tradition,  possesses  special  interest, 
literature.  The  anthology  of  erotic  verses,  written  in  the  ancient  dialect 
of  Maharashtra,  and  entitled  Saptasataka,  or  *  Seven  Cen- 
turies', professes  to  be  the  composition   of    Plala,  and  is 
ascribed  bv  tradition  to  Salivahana,  another  form  of  Sata- 
vahana.    Prof.  Sir  11.  G.  Bhandarkar  therefore  has  suggested 
that  probably  either  king  Hala  may  have  been  the  autiior  of 
the  Avork,  or  it  may  have  been  dedicated  to  liim.^      Other 

when   twenty-four    years    of   age,  Puranic  list,  who  is  commemorated 

having  been  already  Crown  Prince  by  a  defaced,  but  happily  inscribed, 

{yuvardja)  for  nine  years.     In  his  relief  image  at  Nanaghat,  a  pass 

second  year  he  defied  Satakarni,  leading  from   the   Konkan   to  the 

by  sending  an  army  to  the  west.  a'l^-ient    town    of   Junnar    in    the 

In   his   fifth  year  he   repaired   an  Poona District,  Bombay  ,^i.  &  >F.  7., 

aqueduct  which  had  not  been  used  ^^™^'  P"  '^"  ' 

for  1(«  years  from  the  time  of  king  The  synchronism  of  Satakarni  I 

Nanda,  and  in  the  same  year  ha-  "^^'th  Kiiaravcla  proves  conclusively 

rassed  the  king  of  Rajagriha,  i.e.  of  that   the  Andhra   dynasty  cannot 

Magadha.     In  his  twelfth  year  he  have  begun  with  the  death  of  the 

watered  hiselephants  in  the  Ganges,  last   Kanva,  king.      The    date  as- 

and  compelled  the  king  of  Magadha  signed    to  Satakarni    I    is   in   full 

to  bow  at  his  feet.    In  his  thirteenth  accord    with    the   "script    of    the 

year  he  erected  certain  pillars.  Nanaghat  inscriptions,    which   in- 

The   reference    to    king    Nanda  elude  similar  records  of  the  first  and 

gives  the  approximate  date.     The  sec-ond  Andhra  kings,  Simuka  and 

latest    date    for    the    last    Nanda  Krishna  (Liiders,  o^^  e//.,  Nos.  1113, 

king,  according  to  my  chronology,  ll'll,  iut  .     The  king  of  Magadha 

is  3^2  u.  c.     Deducting  103  we  get  whom  Kharavela  defeated  was  one 

219  H.c.  for  the  fifth  year  of  Khara-  of    the    later    Mauryas,    probably 

vela,    and   consequently    223    b.c.  Sallsuka  (c.  223— 211),  in  or  about 

for  his  accession,  some  nine  years  212  b.  c. 

after  the   close  of  Asoka's  reign.  ^  Earhf  Ilht.  of  the  J)Mnn,  2nd 

The  Andhra  king  alluded   to  can  ed.,  in  Jiomh.    Ckn.  (18fH)  ,  vol.   i, 

only  be  Sri  J^atakarni,  No.  3  of  the  pt.  ii,  p.  171. 


THE  KSHAIL\lLlTAS  209 

traditions  also  associate  literature  written   in   Prakrit    with 

kings  of  the  Andhra  dynasty.     In  tlieir  time  and  territory 

Sanskrit,  apparently,  was  not  in  ordinary  use  as  the  laniruagc 

of  polite  literature. 

During  the  reigns  of  kings  No.  ^S,  Raja  Gautamiputra  Wars 

Sri  Satakarni,  and  No.  24,  Raia  Vasishtiputra  Sri  Puluniayi,  »^etween 
I         X      11  1    •  n-  -IIP-  Aiidtiras 

the   Andiu'as   engaged   hi   conflicts   with   the    loreign    tribes  and 

which  had  formed  settlements  and  carved  out  kingdoms  in  *o''^'g"^*"s. 

Western  India,  subordinate  apparently  at  first  to  the  Indo- 

Parthiaii  and  subsecjuently  to  the  Kuslian  sovereigns.     Such 

conflicts  between  indigenous  Rajas  and  alien  chiefs  frequently 

recur  in  the  history  of  ancient  India. 

The  story  of  the  foreign  settlements  in  the  regions   now  Satrap 
mostly  included  in  the  Bombay  Presidency  is  fragmentary  and  k  h'h^ 
obscure,  but  can  be  made  out  to   some  extent  from   study  rata, 
of  coins  and  inscriptions.     The  earliest  foreign  ruler  in  the 
west  whose  name  has  been  preserved  was  the  Satrap  Bhiimaka 
Kshaharata,  who  struck  coins  with  Parthian  aflinities,  and 
may  be  presumed  to  have  been  subordinate  to  one  or  other 
of  the  Indo-Parthian  kings,  perhaps  Gondophares.    His  exact 
date  is  not  known,  but  he  may  be  assigned  approximately  to 
the  middle  of  the  first   century  after  Christ,  or  possibly  a 
somewhat  earlier  period,  and   may  ha\e   had  predecessors. 
The  Kshaharatas  were  connected  M'itli  the  Sakas,  and  may 
have  immigrated  from  Sakastene,  the  modern  Sistan. 

The  next  recorded   Kshaharata  chief  is  Nahapana,  M'ho  Great 
may    or    may    not    have    been    the    immediate    successor  js^ahapana 
of  Bhumaka,   and   may    be   placed   approximately   betMcen  Kshaha- 
A.D.  60  and  90.     His  name  indicates  Persian  origin.     At 
first  he  held  the  rank  of  Satrap,  like  Bhumaka,  but  subse- 
(juently  assumed  the  higher  style  of   Great  Satrap  {inahu- 
kshatrapa),  and  was  also  known  by  the  Indian  title  of  Raja. 
His   dominions    comprised    a    large    area,    extending    from 
Southern  Rajputana  to  the  Nasik  and  Poona  Districts  in  the 
Western  Ghats,  and  including  the  peninsula  of  Surashtra  or 
Kathiawar.     His  titles  of  Satrap  and  Great  Satrap  indicate 
subordination  to  a  northern  power,  which  can  only  have  been 
that  of  the  Kushans. 


210 


THE  ANDHRA  DYNASTY 


Extirpa- 
tion of 
Kshaha- 
ratas  by 
Gautami- 
putra 
I^atakarni 


Conquest 
of  Pulu- 
mayi  by 
Rudra- 
daraan  I. 


Careers  of 

Hudra- 

(iriman 

and 

Chash- 

tana. 


The  Aiulhra  kina,-,  No.  ^S,  Raja  Gautamiputra  Sri  Sata- 
karni,  who  may  be  assumed  to  have  come  to  the  throne  about 
A.D.  109,  succeeded  in  extirpating  the  Kshaharata  dynasty 
and  annexing  their  dominions  about  a.d.  l^-i.  He  signalized 
his  victory  by  calling  in  tlie  money  issued  by  the  vanquished 
princes  during  many  years,  restamping  it  in  a  crude  fashion 
with  his  own  insignia.  He  posed  as  the  champion  of  the 
Hindu  religions,  including  both  Brahmanical  Hinduism 
and  Buddhism,  as  against  the  creeds  of  casteless  foreigners, 
Sakas,  Pahlavas,  and  others,  and  prided  himself  on  liaving 
re-established  the  practice  of  caste  rules.  He  thus  '  restored 
the  glory  of  the  Sntavahana  race  ',  and  Avas  in  a  position 
to  gratify  ids  Hindu  sentiment  by  liberal  donations  to  both 
Brahmans  and  Buddhists.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  although 
the  Andhra  kings  clearly  were  officially  Brahmanical  Hindus, 
most  of  their  recorded  donations  were  made  to  Buddhist 
institutions. 

About  A.D.  135  Raja  Gautamiputra  Sri  Sfitakarni  was 
succeeded  by  his  son.  Raja  Vasishthiputra  Sri  Pulumayi, 
M'ho  reigned  for  some  thirty  years.  He  was  married  to 
a  daughter  of  Rudradaman  I,  the  Saka  Great  Satrap  of 
Ujjain,  but  the  matrimonial  connexion  did  not  prevent  the 
Great  Satrap  from  twice  defeating  his  son-in-law  and  taking 
from  him  most  of  the  territorj'  which  Gautamiputra  Sata- 
karni  had  won  from  tlie  Kshaharatas.  The  relationship, 
however,  so  far  influenced  the  victor  that  he  did  not  proceed 
to  extremities,  as  he  would  have  done  to  a  stranger.  The 
aggrandizement  of  Rudradaman  I  must  have  been  completed 
before  a.d.  150,  because  we  know  that  shortly  after  that  date 
he  placed  on  record  a  list  of  the  numerous  regions  in  Western 
India  Mhich  owned  his  sway. 

Rudradaman  I,  a  learned  and  accomplished  prince,  who 
thus  raised  his  house  to  the  position  of  the  leading  power 
in  the  West,  was  the  grandson  of  the  great  Satrap  Chashtana, 
whose  coins  in  silver  and  copper,  inscribed  with  Greek, 
Brahmi,  and  Kharoshthi  legends,  are  found  in  Gujarat. 
The  events  of  Chashtana's  reign  are  not  on  record,  but  his 
approximate  date  is  easily  ascertained  from  the  facts  that  his 


YAJNA  SRI  ^11 

grandson  is  known  to  liavo  been  reigning  in  a.d.  1^0  and  150. 
Cluishtana,  therefore^  may  be  placed  in  the  period  from  about 
A.D.  80  to  110.  These  dates  imply  that  Chasiitana  held  his 
office  as  Great  Satrap  under  the  Kushfin  dynasty,  that  is 
to  say,  under  Kanishka,  according  to  my  chronology.^  The 
Saka  satraps  of  Sunlshtra  and  Mrihva,  as  well  as  Nahapana 
the  Kshaharata,  naturally  followed  the  examples  of  their 
Kushan  sovereigns  by  using  the  Saka  era,  then  newly  estab- 
lished. The  abundance  of  dated  coins  and  inscriptions 
permits  of  no  doubt  as  to  the  outUnes  of  the  chronology  of 
the  dynasty  founded  by  Chashtana,  the  history  of  which  will 
be  further  noticed  in  connexion  with  the  Gupta  kings. 

After  the  death  of  Vasishtiputra  Pulumuyi  about  A.n.  16'6,  Yajfia  Sn, 
the  only  notable  Andhra  monarch  was  Gautaml[)utra  Yajna  1"  %" 
Sri,  who  reigned  for  twenty-nine  years,  from  about  a.d.  173. 
His  rare  silver  coins,  imitating  the  satrap  coinage,  certainly 
prove  a  renewal  of  relations  with  the  western  satraps,  and 
probably  point  to  unrecorded  con<[uests.  It  would  seem  that 
Yajna  Sri  must  have  renewed  the  struggle  in  which 
Pulumayi  II  had  been  worsted,  and  that  he  recovered  some 
of  the  provinces  lost  by  that  prince.  The  silver  coins  would 
then  have  been  struck  for  circulation  in  the  coiKpiered 
western  districts,  just  as  similar  coins  were  minted  by 
Chandra-gupta  Vikramaditya  when  he  finally  shattered  the 
power  of  the  Saka  satraps.  The  numerous  and  varied, 
although  rude,  bronze  and  leaden  coins  of  Yajna  Sri,  whicii 
formed  the  currency  of  the  eastern  provinces,  confirm  the 
testimony  of  inscriptions  by  which  the  prolonged  duration  of 
his  reign  is  attested.^  Some  pieces  bearing  the  figure  of 
a  ship  probably  should  be  referred  to  this  reign,  and  suggest 
the  inference  that  Yajna  Sri's  power  was  not  confined  to 
the  land. 

'  Biihler  long  ago  recognized  the  record  itself  must  have  been  incised 

true    relation   between    Chashtana  some  years  later  (ibid.,  p.  190). 

and  the  Indo-Scythian  kings.     See  "  Prof.  Bhandarkar's  notion  that 

transl.  in  Ind.  Ant.,  1913,  p.  189,  the  Andhra  dynasty  comprised  two 

of  his  old  essay  on  Indian  Inscrip-  distinct  lines  of  kings,  one  western 

tions,  &c.     The  Girnar  inscription  and  one  eastern,  does  not  seem  to  be 

records  the   bursting   of  the  dam  tenable.     The  evidence  shows  that 

of  the  lake  in  a.d,   150,  but  the  most  of  the  kings  held  both  the 

western  and  eastern  provinces. 

p2 


212  THE  7VNDIIHA  DYNASTY 

The  last  His  successoi's,  apparently,  in  the  eastern  provinces,  named 
kings.  ^  ^j'^ya,  Chandra  Sri,  and  Pulumayi  IV,  with  whom  the  long 
series  of  Andhra  kings  came  to  an  end  ahout  a.d.  225,  are 
mere  names  ;  but  the  real  existence  of  Chandra  Sri  is  attested 
l)y  the  discovery  of  a  few  leaden  coins  bearing  his  name.^ 
Research  probably  Mill  detect  coins  struck  by  both  his 
next  predecessor  and  immediate  successor. 
Duiaiion  Tiie  testimony  of  the  Puranas  that  the  dynasty  endured 
dvnastv  ^**''  ^'^^1^^'^'  ^^6  or  460  years,  or,  in  round  lunnbers,  four 
centuries  and  a  half,  appears  to  be  substantially  accurate. 
The  nundjer  of  the  kings  also  appears  to  be  correctly  stated 
as  having  been  thirty.  The  following  dynastic  list  has  been 
constructed  on  the  assumption  that  the  best  texts  of  the 
Puranas  are  right  in  fixing  the  number  of  kings  as  thirty,  and 
therefore  omits  an  extra  king,  No.  24  a,  who  appears  only 
in  a  single  manuscript  of  the  Vdyu  Parana.^ 
The  last  At  present  nothing  is  known  concerning  the  causes  which 
T  ,,  .  brought  about  the  downfall  of  this  dynasty,  M'hich  had 
succeeded  in  retaining  power  for  a  period  so  unusually  pro- 
longed. It  would  seem  that  Yajna  Sri  was  the  last  king 
to  retain  control  of  both  the  eastern  and  western  provinces. 
Scions  of  the  Satavahana  race  appear  to  \\',\\e.  established 
minor  kingdoms  in  different  parts  of  the  Deccan.  The  fall 
of  the  And  bras  happens  to  coincide  approximately  with  the 
death  of  Vasude\a,  the  last  of  the  great  Kushan  kings  of 
Northern  India,  as  well  as  with  the  rise  of  the  Sassanian 
dynasty  of  Persia  (a.d.  226)  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  coin- 
cidence may  not  be  merely  fortuitous.  But  the  third  century 
after  Christ  is  one  of  the  dark  spaces  in  the  spectrum  of 
Indian  iiistorj',  and  almost  every  event  of  that  time  is 
concealed  from  view  by  an  impenetrable  veil  of  oblivion. 
Vague  speculation,  unchecked  by  the  salutary  limitations  of 
verified  fact,  is,  at  the  best,  unprofitable  ;  and  so  we  must 
be  content  to  let  the  Andhras  pass  away  in  the  darkness. 
The  Puranas  present  confused  and  corrupt  lists  of  numerous 

'  Catal.C(>'(nHl.M.,\o\.'\,\>.-20[i;  assign    an    earlier    date    to    these 

Rapson,    Catal.    of   Coins    of   fhe  coins. 

Andhra    Dynasty,  ^c.   (1!>()8;,   pp.  -  For  the  list  see  App.  J. 
;{()-S.    Prof.  Rapson  is  inclined  to 


INVASION  OF  MENANDER  213 

local  dynasties,  including  Ya\anas  and  Sakas,  obviousl}' 
foreigners,  as  having  succeeded  the  Andhras,  which  it  is 
impossible  to  arrange  in  any  intelligible  fashion.^ 


APPENDIX    I 

The  liuHtsion  of  Menander,  and  llie  Dale  of  ValanjoU 

The  authorities  for  the  invasion  of  Menander  are  Strabo,  who  Authori- 
alone  gives  the  Greek  king's  name  (Bk.  xi^  sec.  xi,  1  ;  xv.  sec.  ii,  ^^^^' 
3);  Patanjali,  the  contem])orary  Hindu  grammarian  ;  the  Sanskrit 
astronomical  work,  the  Gargi  Sainldld,  of  uncertain  date  ;  and 
Taranath,  the  Tibetan  historian  of  Buddhism. 

Strabo's  informant,  Apollodoros  of  Artemita,  testifies  that  Strabo. 
Menander  crossed  the  Hypanis  (Hyphasis,  Bias)  river,  at  which 
Alexander's  advance  had  been  arrested  ;  penetrated  to  the  Isamus 
{rov  To-u/ioi'),  which  has  not  been  identified  ;  and  ultimately  sub- 
jugated Patalene,  or  the  Indus  delta,  the  kingdom  of  Saraostos 
(Surashtra,  or  Kathiawar),  and  a  territory  on  the  western  coast 
named  Sigerdis.  This  statement  is  supjjorted  by  the  observation 
of  the  writer  of  the  Periplux,  who  noticed,  probably  towards  the 
close  of  the  first  century  after  Christ,  that  Greek  coins  of  Apollo- 
dotos  and  Menander  were  still  current  at  the  port  of  Barygaza 
(Broach,  Bharoch).  This  curious  observation  suggests  the 
inference,  that  although  Menander  was  compelled  to  retire 
quickly  from  the  Gangetic  valley,  his  rule  must  have  continued 
for  a  considerable  number  of  years  in  the  territories  on  the 
western  coast. 

The  sieges  of  Saketam  and  Madhyamikfi  by  the  Yavana,  that  Madhya- 
is  to  say  presumably  Menander,  are  referred  to  by  the  grammarian  mika. 
Patafijali  in  terms  which  necessarily  imply  that  those  events 
occurred  during  the  writer's  lifetime.  The  proof  that  Madhyamika 
is  the  correct  reading  and  to  be  interpreted  as  the  name  of  a  city 
is  due  to  Prof.  Kielhorn  {hid.  Ant.  vii,  266).  The  identity  of 
Madhyamika  with  the  ancient  town  of  Nagarl,  or  TambavatI 
Nagari,  one  of  the  oldest  sites  in  India,  about  1 1  miles  to  the 
noi-th  of  Chitor  in  Rajputana,  is  established  by  the  coins  found 
at  Nagari,  and  rarely  elsewhere,  with  the  legend  Majhinii/mijn 
sibijauapadasa,  '  [Coin]  of  Majhimika  (Madhyamika)  in  the  Sibi 
country'  (Cunningham,  Reports,  vi,  201  ;  xiv,  11-6,  pi.  XXXI). 

Saketam  (Saketa)  probably  was  a  town  in  Southern  Oudh,  but  Saketam. 
not  identical  with  Ajodhya,  as  it  is  often  asserted  to  be.     There 
seem  to  have  been  several  places  of  the  name  (Weber,  in  hid. 
Ant.  ii,  208).     The  identifications  of  the  Sha-che  of  Fa-hien  with 

1  For  justification  of  the  state-      those  made  in  earlier  editions,  see 
ments  in  the  text,  which  differ  from      Appendix  J. 


214  THE  SUNGA  DYNASTY 

the    Vi^aklia  of"  Hiutn  Tsaiig  and   witli  Saketani,  as  made  by 
Cunningham,  are  equally  unsound  (./.  Ji.  A.  S.,  1898,  p.  522  ;  1900, 
}).  ,'>).     At  present  the  jjusition  of  Saketam  cannot  be  determined 
precisely. 
Date  of  The  words  of    Patanjali   in   which    he    alludes  to  the  horse- 

Patafijali.  sacrif)ce  of  Pushyainitra  (i/ia  Pitshpamilmvi  ijaJai/Fnna/i),  when 
read  with  other  relevant  passages,  permit  of  no  doubt  that  the 
grammarian  •was  the  contemporary  of  that  king  as  well  as  of 
the  Greek  invader  presumed  to  be  Menander.  'llie  question 
of  Pataujali's  date  was  the  subject  of  prolonged  controversy  be- 
tween Weber  on  one  side  and  Cloldstucker  and  Bhandarkar  on 
tlie  other.  Ultimately  Weber  was  constrained  to  admit  the 
substantial  validity  of  his  op])onents'  arguments  (//»/.  JmL  Lit., 
2nd  ed.,  Triibner,  1  882,  p.  22 1,  note)  ;  and  no  doubt  now  remains 
that  the  date  of  Patanjali  is  fixed  to  ].')0-14-0  d.  r.  in  round 
numbers.  References  are  :  Goldstiicker,  Fanini,  His  Place  in 
Sansh-il  Lilemture,  pp.  228-^^8  ;  Ind.  Ant.  i,  299-302  ;  ii,  .57,  69, 
91-,  206-10,  2.'^8,  i^62  ;  xv,  80-4;  xvi,  1.56,  172  (the  Maurya 
passage). 

The  statement  in  the  Gnrgl  Smhhila,  a  work  ascribed  by  Max 
Muller  to  the  second  or  third  century  after  Christ,  is  to  the 
following  effect : — 

GargI  '  After  speaking  of  the  kings  of  Pataliputra  (mentioning  Salisuka,  the 

Saiiihita.  fourth  successor  of  Asoka  [r.  iOO  b.  c]  by  name},  the  author  adds: 
"  That  wlien  the  viciously  valiant  Greeks,  after  reducing  Saketa  (Oude), 
tlie  Panchala  country  [probably  the  Doab  between  the  Jumna  and 
Ganges],  and  Mathura,  will  reach  Kusumadhvaja,  that  is,  the  royal 
residence  of  Pataliputra,  and  that  then  all  provinces  will  be  in  disorder  "  ' 
(Max  Muller,  India,  What  can  it  Teach  m.',  p.  298,  ed.  1883;  and  Cun- 
ningham, Xnm.  Chron.,  18!)0,  p.  2-2i\i 

^  Dr.  Fleet  (J.  U.A.  G.,  l!)l-2,  p.  who,  according  to  the  early  e  Vayu 
7!>2)  points  out  that  the  passage  MS.  (Pargiter),  reigned  for  thirteen 
quoted  is  from  a  chapter  of  the  years.  I  do  not  see  any  reason  for 
(i'dr<f7-Sai'nh!t(l  entitled  the  Yuya-  refusing  to  believe  that  the  Yiaja- 
jmrdiia,  and  rightly  observes  that  piirdua  may  date  from  the  third 
it  cannot  be  as  early  as  50  «.  c,  as  century.  Whatever  the  date  of  the 
Kern  long  ago  conjectured.  The  existing  text  may  be,  it  is  most 
learned  critic  ignores  Max  Miillcr\s  imlikely  that  the  author  should 
view,  and  censures  me  for  using  have  invented  the  statement  about 
the  book,  which  he  denounces  as  the dnsh'a  vHi-rdntdhYavniMis.  The 
'  (piite  late  '  and  '  worthless  '.  But  name  of  the  Yavana  leader  appears 
he  gives  no  reason  for  discrediting  to  have  been  lost  owing  to  corrup- 
Max  Miilier's  guess  that  the  work  tion  of  the  text.  As  to  Menander's 
might  date  from  the  third  century  date,  I  have  followed  Cunningham, 
after  Christ.  No  doubt  some  of  in  preference  to  Prof.  Gardner,  on 
tiie  statements  in  the  Yuffapurdna,  whom  Dr.  Fleet  relies.  I  still  think 
as  in  all  Punmas,  are  absurd  or  that  there  is  good  reason  for  con- 
erroneous,  and  the  text  probably  netting  the  statement  of  the  Ynya- 
is  corrupt;  e.g.  Kusumadliraja  />**w/(«  with  Menander,  and  for  the 
seems  to  be  a  mistake  for  Kn.tunia-  clironology  adopted.  Mr.  Pliandar- 
l>ura.  But  such  errors  do  not  kar's  notion  that  the  invader  m;iy 
jusUfy  total  rejection.  The  book  liavc  been  Demctrios  appears  to  me 
correctly  names  Sali6uka  Maurya,  untenable. 


AUTHORITIES  215 

The  evidence  of  Taranath  (a.  d.  I()()8,  reslini; on  old  works),  as  Taranath'. 
correctly  translated  by  Schiefner,  agrees  with  that  of  the  Divi/d- 
vadana  (Burnoiif,  Inlrod.,  '2nd  ed.,  p.  .'!8  t)  in  stating  that  Pushya- 
mitra  was  the  ally  of  unbehevers,  and  himself  burnt  monasteries 
and  slew  monks  : — 

'  Es  erhob  der  Hrahinaiienkonig  Puschjamitra  sammt  den  iibrigen 
Tirthja's  Krieg,  vcrbrannte  von  Madhyade<^a  bis  Dschalanidhara  eine 
Menge  von  Vihara's,'  &c.  (p.  81). 

The  historian  adds  that,  five  years  later,  Pushyamitra  died  in 
the  north. 

Assuming  that  Pushyamitra  died  in  1 V,)  b.  t .,  after  a  reign  of 
thirty-six  years,  as  stated  in  the  best  Puranic  texts,  the  invasion 
of  Menander  may  be  assigned  to  the  years  156-153  b.  c,  a  date 
fully  in  accordance  with  the  numismatic  evidence.  Coins  of 
Menander  are  common  in  India,  both  in  the  Panjab  and  farther 
east  and  south.  Forty  of  his  coins  were  found  in  the  Hamirpur 
district  to  the  south  of  the  Jumna  in  1877,  and  brought  to  the 
author,  then  on  duty  in  that  district.  They  were  associated  with 
coins  of  Eukratides,  Apollodotos  Soter,  and  Antimachos  Nike- 
phoi'os,  and  were  in  good  condition  {Ind.  Ant.,  IfJOl,  p.  217). 


APPENDIX   J 

The  Andhras  and  cormected  Dynaslies 

The  inscriptions  and  coins  of  botli  the  Andhras  and  the  con- 
nected dynasties  are  fully  discussed  in  Rapson,  Catalogue  of  the 
Coins  of  the  Andhra  Dynasty  &c.,  B.  M.,  1908,  but  the  inscrip- 
tions are  most  conveniently  cited  by  the  numbers  in  Prof. 
H.  Liidei's's  excellent  work,  ^  A  List  of  Brahmi  Inscriptions  from 
the  earliest  times  to  about  a.d.  400  ',  published  as  an  Appendix 
to  Epigraphia  Indira,  vol.  x,  1.910.  Mr.  F.  E.  Pargiter's  book,  en- 
titled The  Purana  Text  of  the  Dynasties  of  the  Kali  Age,  Oxford, 
1913,  gives  the  Puranic  lists  in  their  most  autlientic  form, 
with  a  full  apparatus  of  variants.  Mr.  R.  1).  Banerji's  essay, 
entitled  ^  The  Scythian  Period  of  Indian  History ',  in  Indian 
Antiquary,  I9O8,  includes  certain  valuable  hints  on  the  history  of 
Nahapana,  &c.,  which  have  heljjcd  to  guide  my  judgement.  The 
pa])eron  the  '  Nasik  Hoard  of  Nahapana's  and  Satakarni's  Coins ', 
with  four  plates,  by  the  Rev.  H.  R.  Scott,  re})rinted  from  the 
J.  Br.  Br.  R.A.S.,  1907,  supplies  full  details  of  the  important 
•Jogaltembhi  hoard. 

I  have  also  considered  Mr.  V.  Gopala  Aiyar's  paper, '  The  Saka 
and  Samvat  Eras,'  in  the  Journal  of  the  South  Indian  Association, 
AjM-il  1911,  vol.  i,  pp.  4-25-49. 

With  reference  to  those  authorities  I  now  proceed  to  give 
concisely  in  this  Appendix,  in  lieu  of  footnotes,  the  reasons  for 
the  pi'esentation  of  the  history  offered  in  this  edition. 


216  THE  ANDHRA  DYNASTY 

Refei'ences  to  inscriptions  apparently  mentioning  the  Andhra 
kings  named  in  the  Puranie  list,  as  indicated  by  serial  numbers, 
are  : — 

King  No.  1— Liiders,  No.  11 13;  No.  2— 8 16,  1 144;  No.  S— 1  lit, 
\3i5;  No.  2.S— 1123,  1124,  112.t;  No.  24—1100,  1106,  1122, 
1123,  1124,  1248;  No.  25?— 127});  No.  27—987,  1024,  1146, 
1340;  No.  29—1341.  Doubtful  identity— 1 1 12,  1120,  1202, 
1203,  1204.  Coins  exist  attributable,  in  some  cases  with  doubt, 
to  Nos.  6,  21,  22,  23.  24,  2,"').  27.  29,  in  the  Andhra  list. 

The  Kshaharata  inscriptions  are  1099,  112.5,  1131,  1132,  113.3, 
1134,  1135,  1174.  Coins  exist  of  Bhumaka  and  Nahapana,  and 
certain  coins  of  Cxautamiputra  (Andhra  king.  No.  23),  are  restruck 
on  those  of  Nahapana. 

The  list  of  Andhra  kings  is  taken  from  Pargiter,  pp.  38-43,  71. 
Tlie  Puranasgivethe  name  of  thefirstkingasSif^uka(3//.),Sindhuka 
{fa,  Bd),o\-  Sipraka  (^  ;v),  and  state  that  •  the  Andhra  S.,  with  his 
fellow  tribesmen,  the  servants  of  Su.sarman.  will  assail  the  Kan- 
vayanas  and  him  (Susarman),  and  destroy  the  remains  of  the 
Sungas'  power  and  Avill  obtain  this  earth  '.  He  is  identified  with 
Simuka  of  the  Nanaghat  inscription.  No.  1 1 1 3,  incised  in  script  of 
about  200  u.c. 

Krishna,  king  No.  2,  clearly  is  Kanha  of  Nanaghat  record 
No.  1144  ;  and  king  No.  3,  Sri  Satakanii  or  Mallakarni,  must  be 
the  monarch  mentioned  in  Kharavela's  inscription  No.  346,  and 
the  Nanaghat  epigraph,  No.  1114. 

Hardly  anything  else  being  known  about  the  first  eighteen 
kings,  it  will  suffice  to  enumerate  their  names,  with  the  length 
of  their   reigns,    as    stated    in    Mr.    Pargiter's    list.     They    are 

(1)  Si.4uka,    &c.,    of   MSS.,    Simuka    of  inscription,    23    years ; 

(2)  Krishna,  his  brother,  10;  (3)  Satakanii  or  Mallakarni,  son  of 
(2),  10;  (4)  Puniotsanga,  18;  (.5)  Skandastambhi,  18;  (6)  Sata- 
kanii, .56;  (7)  Lambodara,  18  ;  (8)  7\pTlaka,  12  ;  (9)  Meghasvati, 
18  ;'  (10)  Svati,  18  ;  (11)  Skandasvati,  7  ;  (12)  Mrigendra  Svati- 
kariia,  3  ;  (13)  Kuntala  Svatikarna,  8  ;  (14)  Svatikania,  1  ;  (15) 
Pulomavi  [I],  36;  (l6)  Arishtakarna,  25;  (17)  Hala,  5;  (18) 
.Mantalaka,  5. 

The  remaining  twelve  kings  are  exhibited  in  the  annexed 
synchronistic  table. 

No  doubt  seems  possible  as  to  the  identity  of  GautamTputra, 
king  No.  23,  with  Sri  Sdtalmrni,  Gnntam'ipuira,  or  Raja  Gaulaml- 
pidra  Satakanii  of  the  inscriptions,  w'ho  is  known  to  have  reigned 
at  least  twenty-four  years,  and  was  the  father  of  No.  2 1-,  Pulo- 
mri[vi  H].  That  king,  No.  24,  seems  to  be  the  liaja  J^dsishtipiitm 
Sn  Ptihtmayi,  or  Sn  Piilummji  Vd'^,  or  Saianara-svaml  Vd°  Sr'i 
Piihtmdiji,  or  Raja  J'd°  Svdtnl  Sri  Pi(hundi/i,  or  [lidja^  Vd  Sri 
Sdlakarni  of  various  inscriptions. 

But  a  difficulty  arises  as  to  tlic  identity  of  three  kings  who 
issued  coins  of  the  •  ixiw  ;nul  arrow  '  type,  found,  it  is  believed. 


THE  SATRAPS  217 

only  at  Kolliapiir,  in  the  MarAtliH  state  oi"  lliat  name  in  the 
Western  Ghats.  The  coin  h'<>en(ls,  transcribed  in  Sanskrit 
form,  are  : — 

I.  Raja  VdslslitlupKlnt  rUivaijalcura  [I  I,  sometimes  restriu-k 
with 

II.  Raja  Malhafiputra    Simla/cnra — sometimes    restruck    with 

III.  Rflja  Gaittamlputm  Vilivdijaloira  [II].  Tlie  restrikings 
permit  of  no  doubt  about  the  serial  order  of  these  kings,  but 
according  to  one  view  tlaey  were  merely  local  governors  and 
viceroys,  and  according  to  another,  which  I  adopted  definitely  in 
earlier  publications,  they  were  members  of  the  main  dynasty.  If 
the  latter  view  be  correct,  as  I  am  still  disposed  to  think,  the  last 
named,  \'ilivayakura  II,  must  be  king  No.  'i.'5,  the  Gautamlputra 
of  the  Puranas.  Another  question  is  whether  the  strange  word 
Vilivayakura,  which  is  probably  either  Telugu  or  Kanarese,  sliould 
be  regarded  as  a  title  or  a  proper  name.  It  seems  to  me  to  be 
a  name,  but  I  cannot  go  into  details  here.  In  this  edition  I  leave 
these  questions  open.  , 

Pulumayi  I,  king  No.  21-,  takes  the  name  or  title  Satakanii  in 
the  Kanheri  inscription  No.  11  =Luders  })9t,  and  appears  to  have 
mai-ried  the  daughter  of  the  Great  Satrap  Rudradaman  I,  who 
twice  defeated  him  after  A.  o.  ISj  and  before  a.  n.  l.jO.  Pulu- 
mayi, as  stated  in  the  Puranas,  was  the  son  of  (jautamTputra.  It 
seems  to  me  quite  clear  that  this  Pulumayi  I  was  the  king- 
defeated  by  Rudradrunan  I.  Assuming  that  view  to  be  correct, 
a  firm  chronological  datum  is  obtained  from  which  the  dates  of 
the  dynasty  can  be  reckoned  approximately  both  backwards  and 
forwards.  , 

The  identification  of  king  No.  27  with  the  Yajna  Sri  of  numer- 
ous coins  and  inscriptions  is  obvious  and  certain. 

Archaeologists  have  got  into  a  bad  habit  of  mixing  up  as 
'  Western  .Satraps  '  two  distinc-t  dynasties — namely,  the  Kshaha- 
ratas  of  Maharashtra  and  the  line  of  C'hashtana  originally  settled 
at  Ujjain  in  Mfdwa.  No  doubt  both  dynasties  were  satrai)s  in 
the  west,  but  they  were  entirely  distinct  and  had  nothing  to 
do  one  with  the  other,  and  it  is  better  not  to  apply  a  com- 
mon designation  to  both.  Probably  the  capital  of  Nahapana 
Kshaharata  was  Nasik  in  the  Western  Ghats  ;  the  original  capital 
of  C'hashtana  certainly  was  Ujjain.  Chashtana's  grandson  an- 
nexed from  Pulumayi  I  Andhra  most  of  the  territories  which 
Pulumayi's  father  had  wrested  from  the  Kshaharatas  some  years 
earlier.  It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  Gautamlputra  Andhra 
fought  with  Nahapana  personally.  Study  of  the  great  Jogal- 
tembhi  hoard  of  more  than  13,000  coins  of  Nahapana  proves  that 
the  coinage  extended  over  many  years,  although  always  bearing 
the  name  of  Nahapana,  who,  I  believe,  was  dead  before  Gautaml- 
putra extirpated  his  family  or  clan.  The  arrow  and  thunderl)olt 
of  Nahapana's  coins  connect  him  with   the   Parthians  and  the 


218  THE  ANDHRA  DYNASTY 

Northern  Satraps  llagaiia  and  Hagamasha.^  Tlie  coinage  ot" 
Chaslitana  and  his  successors  is  (jinte  different. 

Tlie  (Jreek  geographer  Ptolemy,  wlio  died  after  a.  n.  1()1,  and 
Hved  at  Alexandria  for  forty  years,  described  Ujjain  as  the 
capital  of  Tiastanes,  who,  no  doubt,  is  rightly  identified  with 
Chashtana.  The  date  of  conij)osition  of  the  Gcograp/ii/  is  not 
known,  but  if  the  book  was  written  about  a.  d.  1.'>0  the  informa- 
tion about  Tiastanes  was  not  many  years  out  of  date." 

My  view  of  the  relations  between  the  Andhras  and  the  two 
distinct  dynasties  of  foreign  satraps  is  concisely  exhibited  in  the 
following  tabular  statement.  It  seems  to  me  that  all  the  data 
harmonize  admirably.  Almost  all  students  are  agreed  that  the 
inscriptions  and  coins  of  the  Chashtana  line  of  satrajis  are  dated 
in  the  Saka  era,  and  I  see  no  reason  for  doubting  that  the 
Kshaharata  records  are  dated  in  the  same  way. 

'  Catal.  Coins  in  1.  M.,  vol.  i,  p.  Ptolemy  as  rulingat  Hippokoura, 

195.     In   that   work   Hagana   and  probably  was  the  Andhra  king  No. 

Hagaraasha  seem  to  be  dated  too  33,  who  acquired  the  Kshaharata 

early.  dominions  about  a.  n.  1-26.    Hippo- 

2   Baleokouros,     mentioned     by  koura  mm/  mean  Nasik. 


^STIES 

I 

Andhra  Kings,  Pu   Saka  Satraps  and  Great 
List,  Pargiter        Satraps  oi'  Ujjain. 
pp.  35-43,  71, 


19.  Purikasena  .      Chashtana  (son  of  Ghsa- 

20.  Sundara  6atak^  motika),  at  first  Satrap, 

later  Great  Satrap ;  also 

21.  Chakora  ^atak^  took  Indian  title  of  Raja. 


22.  Sivasvati , 


23.  Gautamlputra  'jayadaraan,  son  of  Chash- 
tana, Satrap  only. 


Rudradaman   [I],    son  of 

Jayadaman,  Great  Satrap 

(known    dates    a.d.    130 

24.  Puloma[vi  II],    and  150;  twice  defeated 

■■  Andhra     kmg     No.    24, 


23 


about  A.  D.  140). 


raA       T        ^T-  .,  „  Damaiada^rT,  Satrap  and 
[24a.   In  e  Vayu  o    ^^J^  g^^^^p  ^^^  ^„^^„ 

Satakarpi  dates),  son  of  Rudrada 

25.  Sivasrl    ""'"•" 
III] 


Pulomj 


man  I. 


26.  ^ivaSkandha 
karni 


27.  YajnaSri   ^ata 
nika 


28.  Vijaya     . 

29.  Chandasri    (C 

dra)  Satakan 


30.  Pulomavi  [IV] 


End  of  Pynas 
•These  30  Andhr 
will  enjoy  the  ea 
years  '  (v.  1.  Bd,  4, 
41 1 ;  but  ?  corrup 


'I'o  face  pa. 


Jivadaman,  Great  Satrap, 
son  of  DamajadasrT. 

Rudrasiriiha  I,  son  of  Ru- 
dradaman I,  Satrap  and 
Great  Satrap. 

Rudrasena  I,  son  of  Ru- 
drasiriiha I,  Satrap  and 
Great  Satrap. 

Sanghadaraan,  another 
son  of  Rudrasiriiha  I, 
Great  Satrap. 

Damasena,  another  son  of 
Rudrasiriiha  I,  Great 
Satrap. 


80 


110 


128 


155 


Remarks. 


(N.  B.  Names  given  in  Sanskrit 
jonn  for  the  take  of  uniformity 
of  spelling.) 

'  Tiastanes  '  of  Ptolemy  = 
Chashtana. 


Andhra  king  No.  23,  prob. 
=  Baleokouros  of  Pto- 
lemy. Intelligible  Greek 
legends  occur  on  the  coins 
ofNahapana,  r.  a.d.  lOO. 


178 


180 


199 


223 


Sundry  complications  in 
the  succession  of  the 
Satraps  and  Great  Satraps 
are  omitted. 


THE  LATER  ANDHRA  KINGS 

AND  CONNECTED 

DYNASTIES 

Andhra  Kings.  Purana 
List,  Pargiter. 
pp.  35-43.  71. 

Ace.  e. 

Inscriptions.  LUders's  List, 
Ep.  /inf..  vol.  X.  App. 

Coins. 

Kshaharata  Satraps  of 
Maharashtra 

\"n." 

Soka  Satraps  and  Great 
Satraps  of  Ujjain. 

Acc.c. 

Remarks. 

fin',  fir  l^(  saic  oj unifimily 

19.  Purikasena  .    .    .'ai 

,_ 

I 

The  •  bow  and  arrow '  coins  of 

Bhflraaka,    Satrap   (coins 

?70 

Chashtana  (son  of  Ghsa- 

81) 

•  Tiastanes '  of  Ptolemy  = 

!;o.  Sundara  Satakartii    1 

80 

\ 

Vaiishthiputxa  Vilivayakura 
[I]  may  belong  to  any  one 

only ;   no  inscriptions  or 

or 

m6tika\  at  first  Satrap. 

Chashtana. 

dates). 

eariier 

later  Great  Satrap ;  also 

21.  Cliakora  Sfitakarni    J 

81 

( 

of   these   three    kings    (see 
Rapson,  pp.  &,  G\ 
The  '  bow  and  arrow '  coins  of 

?50 

took  Indian  title  of  Ruja. 

92.  Sivasvati.     ...  98 

81 

?No.   1379,  Amaravati,   Rdjn 

Bhumaka's  relation  to  Na- 

6rl    6ipamaka    SaUi;    but   it 

Afdlharipulra  Sitalakura  pro- 
bably should  be  assigned  to 
this  king  (Rapson.  p,  T).    See 
also  No.  35. 

hapana  is  not  known. 

might  belong  to  No.   25  or 

Nahapana,  Satrap. 

...0 

33.  Gaiitamiputra  .    .  ^1 

109 

Nos.  1123.  1125,  \U6,  Nasik; 

Re-struck  coins  of  NahapSna 

Dakshamitra.  dau.,  m.  to 

Jayadiiraan,  son  of  Chash- 

111! 

Andhra  king  No.  23,  prob. 

to  the  34th  year. 

with  the  legend  Rija  Oauta- 
miputra  ^!  tatakartn  (Rap- 
son, pp.  Uxxix,  Cfl-70).    The 

Rishabhadatta  or  Usha- 
vadata,  governor  of  Na- 
sik, &c.    Nahapana  may 

tana,  Satrap  only. 

1 

=  Baleokouros  of  Pto- 
lemy. IntelUgible  Greek 
legendsoccur  on  the  coins 
of  Nahapana,  c,  a.  d.  100. 

'bow    and   arrow'   coins   of 

have  died  about  a.  d.  13U. 

Rndradaman  (I],   son  of 

128 

Oautamiputra     Vitirnt/akura 

His  dynasty  was  extir- 

Jayadaman, Great  Satrap 

JII]  prob.  belongto  this  king. 
Eastern  coins  of  Raja  Vdiuh- 

pated  by    Andhra   king 
No.    23,   shortly   before 

(known    dates    a.B,    130 

24.  Puloraufvi  111,  son  of 

Nos.    994,   KanhSri;    1133-4. 

and  150;  twice  defeated 

^                             28 

1147.  Nasik;  1100. 1106,  KSr- 
l€,  and  prob.    1248,  Amara- 

Pulumdyi;  ttsirnJ  Boraetimes 
inserted  before  &rl.     Va'  A-i 
Siitakarni  in  No.  994. 

fhipulra  ^rl  Pulumtitfi  (Rap- 
son. p.  20). 

year  18  of  that  king,  i.e. 

Kshaharata     inscripbons 
are  dated  from  41  to  46 
[Saka].     =  A.  0,119-134. 

Andhra     king     No.    24, 
about  A.D.  140). 

[Sia.   In  f  Vayu  only,  ?9 

Damajadafiri.  Satrap  and 

Satakar^i 

Great  Satrap  ( no  known 

2S.  Siva^ri    Pulomarvi    T 

163 

See  Nos.  S3.  26. 

Prob.  the  eastern  coins  of  JRdJa 

dates),  son  of  Rudrada- 

IIIJ 

ViUahthipiUra  iira  Sri  &Ha- 
kan^i.     But  see  Nos.  22  and 

man  1. 

26.  ^ivaSkandbaSaU-^S 

170 

?No.  lieti.  Banavasi,  mention- 

See" Nos.  23  and  25  above. 

karni 

ing   prince    SdUi-   or    Sha- 
Skatid»nd</a   ^rL     See    Nos. 

S7.  Yajilafiri   Sstakar-  99 

173 

Nos.  987.   1024.  Kaijhcri.  and 

Numerous  types,  with  l^cnd 

1146,  Nasik,  Jidja  Oatttami- 

lidja       GavlamimUra      ^ 
Yajna  Airakarn.,  or  parts  of 
that    legend    (Rapson,    pp. 
34-45). 

putra  Srami  ^ri  Yajrui  ^ta- 
iami     No.    13t0.  China  in 
Krishna    Dist.,    subsUtuted 

Jivadilman,  Great  Satrap, 
son  of  Damajadairi. 

178 

Sundry  complications  in 
the     succession    of    the 

»6.Vij.,.     .    .     .    .    „ 

j« 

aiynkn  for  ivtimf.  To  year  27. 

Rudrasiriiha  I,  son  of  Ru- 
draduman  I,  Satrap  and 

180 

Satraps  and  Great  Satraps 
are  omitted. 

29.  Chan^afirl    (Chan-  10 
dra)  ^atakarni 

208 

No.  1341.  Kodavolu  in  God4- 
vaH  Dlst.      Iliija  V-Uiahfhi- 

mja        VtUulifhiputra       ^ri 

Great  Satrap. 

Rudrasena  I,  .son  of  Ku- 
drasimha  I.  Satrap  and 
Great  Satrap. 

putra     Snimi     $ri     Ch<in<bi 
{Chandra)  .^dta. 

Chandra  &Ui,  or  simply  ^rl 
Chandra  Stiti   (.Rapson,   pp. 
30.  33). 
?nil.    but   the   attribution  of 

199 

30.  Pulom5vi[IV].    .     7 

:i» 

Probably  nil. 

Sanghadaraan.       another 
son    of    Rudrasiriiha    I, 
Great  Satrap. 

228 

some  of  the  PuIomSvi  coins 
is  doubtful. 

End  of  Dynasty. 
•These  30  Andhra  kings 

SSJ 

Other  corns  exUt  which  cannot 

rifimasena.  another  son  of 
Rudrasiriiha      I,      Great 

223 

will  enjoy  the  earth  460 
years '(v.l.B^^  456:  Va. 

be  attributed  definitely  to  any 
king  in  the  list. 

411;  but  ?  corrupt). 

CHAPTER   IX 

THE   INDO-GREEK   AND   INDO-PARTHIAN 

DYNASTIES,   FROM    ABOUT   250  b.  c. 

TO   ABOUT   A.  D.  60 

The  story  of  the  native  dynasties  in  the  interior  must  Hindu 
now  be  interrupted  to  admit  a  brief  review  of  the  fortunes  jviaurva'^ 
of  the  various  foreign  rulers  who  esta])lished  themsehes  in  frontier, 
the  Indian  territories  once  conquered  by  Alexander,  after  tlie 
sun  of  the  Maurya  empire  had  set,  and  the  north-western 
frontier  was  left  exposed  to  foreign  attack.  The  daring 
and  destructive  raid  of  the  great  Macedonian,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  effected  none  of  the  permanent  results  intended. 
The  Indian  provinces  which  he  had  subjugated,  and  which 
Seleukos  had  failed  to  recover,  passed  into  the  iron  grip 
of  Chandragupta,  who  transmitted  them  to  the  keeping  of 
his  son  and  grandson.  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
territories  west  of  the  Indus  ceded  by  Seleukos  to  his  Indian 
opponent  continued  in  possession  of  the  successors  of  the  latter, 
and  that  consequently  the  Hindu  Kush  range  was  the  frontier 
of  the  Maurya  empire  up  to  the  close  of  Asoka's  reign. 

But  it  is  certain  that  the  unity  of  the  empire  did  not  EflFects  of 
surnve  Asoka,  and  that  when  the  influence  of  his  dominating  ^^j^^j^^  ^ 
personality  ceased  to  act,  the  outlying  provinces  shook  off 
their  allegiance  and  set  up  as  independent  states;  of  some 
of  which  the  history  has  been  told  in  the  last  preceding 
chapter.  The  regions  of  the  north-western  frontier,  when 
no  longer  protected  bj'^  the  arm  of  a  strong  paramount 
native  power  in  the  interior,  offered  a  tempting  field 
to  the  ambition  of  the  Hellenistic  princes  of  Bactria  and 
Parthia,  as  well  as  to  the  cupidity  of  the  warlike  races  on 
the  border,  which  was  freely  exploited  by  a  succession  of 
invaders.  This  chapter  will  be  devoted,  so  far  as  the  very 
imperfect    materials    a\ailable    permit,    to  a   sketch   of    the 


2^0  INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 

leading  events  in  the  annals  of  the  Panjiib  and  trans-Indus 
pr()\inces  from  the  elosc  of  Asoka's  reign  to  the  establish- 
nient  of  the  ludo-Scythian,  or  Kusluvn;,  power.  Dates,  it  will 
be  iniderstood,  are  uncertain. 

-361  B.C.         The  spacious  Asiatic  dominion  consolidated  by  the  genius 

Theos?  ^^  "^  Seleukos  Nikator  passed  in  tlie  year  262  or  261  b.  c.  into 
the  hands  of  his  grandson  Antiochos,  a  drunken  sensualist, 
miscalled  even  in  his  lifetime  Theos,  or  ^the  god^,  and, 
strange  to  say,  worshipped  as  such.^  This  worthless  prince 
occupied  the  throne  for  fifteen  or  sixteen  years ;  but  towards 
the  close  of  his  reign  his  empire  suffered  two  grievous  losses, 
by  the  revolt  of  the  Bactrians,  under  the  leadership  of 
Diodotos,  and  of  the  Parthians,  under  that  of  Arsakes. 

Bactiia.  The  loss  of  Bactria  wa^  especially  grievous.     This  province, 

the  rich  plain  watered  by  the  Oxus  (Amu  Darya)  after  its 
issue  from  the  mountains,  had  been  occupied  by  civilized 
men  from  time  immemorial.  The  country,  which  was  said  to 
contain  a  thousand  towns,"  always  had  been  regarded,  during 
the  time  of  the  Achaemenian  kings,  as  the  premier  satrapy, 
and  reserved  as  an  appanage  for  a  prince  of  the  blood.  When 
Alexander  shattered  the  Persian  power  and  seated  himself 
upon  the  throne  of  the  Great  King,  he  continued  to  bestow 
his  royal  favour  upon  the  Bactrians,  who  in  return  readily 
assimilated  the  elements  of  Hellenic  civilization.  Two  years 
after  his  death,  at  the  final  partition  of  the  empire  in 
''321  jj.c,  Bactria  fell  to  the  share  of  Seleukos  Nikator,  and 
continued  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  possessions  of  his 
son  and  grandson. 

The  The  Parthians,  a  race  of  rude  and  hardy  horsemen,  with 

■  habits  similar  to  those  of   the   modern  Turkomans,  dwelt 

beyond    the    Persian    deserts   in   the   comparatively  infertile 

'  Antiochos  Soter  died  between  was  worshipped  as  a  god  during  his 

July  3Gi  and  July  ^61,  at  the  age  life,  and  that  priestesses  were  also 

of  sixty-four;   and  was  succeeded  appointed  to  conduct  the  worship 

by  his  son  Antiochos  Theos,  then  of  his  queen  Laodike. 
aged  about  twenty-four  years,  who  -    '  Eukratides    had   a   thousand 

put  his  brother  Seleukos  to  death  cities  which  acknowledged  his  au- 

(Bevan,  Jfouse  of  Sxleticus,  i,  108,  thority '  (Strabo,  Bk.  xv,  sec.  ii,  3). 

171,  citing  Eusebius,  i,  -249).     The  '  Bactriana  is  the  ornament  of  all 

inscription     found    at    Durdurkar  Ariana  "    ibid.,  Bk.  xi,  sec.  xi,  1). 
proves  tiiat  tlie  second  Antiochos 


REVOLT  OF  BACTRIA  AND  PARTIIIA      2!21 

regions  to  the  south-east  of  the  Caspian  Sea.    Their  country, 

along  with  the  territories  of  the  Chorasmioi,  Sogdioi,  and  Arioi 

(Khwririzni,  Samarkand,  and  Herat),  had  been  included  in 

the  sixteenth  satrapy  of  Darius ;  and  all  the  tribes  named, 

armed  like  the  Bactrians,  with  cane  bows  and  short  spears, 

supplied  contingents  to  the  host  of  XerxcsJ     In  the  time 

of  Alexander  and  the  early  Seleukidae,  Parthia  proper  and 

Hyrkania,  adjoining  the  Caspian,  were  combined  to  form 

a  satrapy.     The  Parthians,  \mlike  the  Bactrians,  had  never 

adopted   Greek  culture;  and,  although   submissive   to  their 

Persian   and  Macedonian   masters,   retained   unchanged  the 

habits  of  a  horde  of  mounted  shepherds,  ecjually  skilled  in 

the  management  of  their  steeds  and  the  use  of  the  bow.^ 

These    two   nations,   so    widely   different   in    history   and  r.  :ioo  n.  c 

manners — the  Bactrians,  with  a  thousand   cities,  and    the  Jevdt  of 

Parthians,   with  myriads  of  moss-troopers — were  moved  at  Bactrians 

almost  the   same  moment,   about  the   middle  of  the   third  Parthians. 

century  b.c,  to  throw  off  their  allegiance  to  their  Seleukidan 

lord,   and    assert  their   independence.     The    exact   dates  of 

these    rebellions    cannot    be    determined,   l)ut    the    Bactrian 

revolt  seems  to  have  been  the  earlier ;  and  there  is  reason  to 

believe  that  the  Parthian  struggle  continued  for  several  years, 

not  being  ended  until  after  the  death  of  Antiochos  Theos 

in  246  B.C.,  although  the  declaration  of  Parthian  autonomy 

seems  to  have  been  made  in  248  b.c.^ 

The  Bactrian  revolt  was  a  rebellion  of  the  ordinary  Oriental  P^''^"' 

^  tos  I. 

*  Herod,  iii,  !)3,  117  ;  vii,  (H-li.  and  other  writers,  with  the  result 
^  For  a  full  account  of  Parthia  stated  in  the  text.  The  date  248  is 
see  Canon  Rawlinson's  Sucth  Orlen-  supposed  by  Prof.  Terrien  de  La- 
tal  Monarcliv,  or  his  more  popular  couperie  to  mark  the  beginning  of 
work,  The  Story  of  Parthia,  in  the  the  Arsakidan  era.  He  agrees 
Stori/  of  the  Nations  series.  with  Mr.  Bevan  in  believing  that 
^  The  leading  ancient  authority  the  struggle  for  Parthian  indepen- 
is  Justin,  Bk.  xli,  ch.  4 ;  but  the  dence  lasted  for  several  years  {Sur 
consuls  whom  he  specifies  to  fix  the  deux  ires  inconniies,  reprint,  p.  5). 
date  of  the  Parthian  revolt  are  not  Mr.  Bevan  thinks  that  Justin  in- 
correctly named.  He  calls  the  tended  to  indicate  the  year  250- 
Bactrian  leader  Theodotus,  and  2l.f)  it.  c.  as  that  of  the  Parthian 
says  that  he  revolted  '  at  the  same  revolt  {House  of  Seleucus,  i,  286). 
period'.  The  details  of  the  evidence  Sir  H.  Howorth  prefers  the  date 
for  the  dates  of  the  two  rebellions  248-7  h.  c.  Num.  Chron.,  ]J)0.>,  p. 
have  been  examined  repeatedly  by  2-2-2). 
Cunningham,    Rawlinson,    Bevan, 


J22a  INDO- GREEK  DYNASTIES 

type,  headed  by  Diodotos,  the  governor  of  the  proviiiee,  who 
seized  an  opportunity  to  shake  off  the  authority  of  his 
sovereign  and  assume  the  royal  state.  The  Parthian  move- 
ment was  rather  a  national  rising,  led  by  a  chief  named 
Arsakes^  who  is  described  as  being  a  man  of  uncertain  origin 
but  undoubted  bravery,  and  inured  to  a  life  of  rapine. 
Arsakes  declared  his  independence,  and  so  founded  the  famous 
Arsakidan  dynasty  of  Persia,  which  endured  for  nearly  five 
centuries  (^48  b.c.  to  a.d.  226).  The  success  of  both  the 
Bactrian  and  Parthian  rebels  Mas  facilitated  by  the  war  of 
succession  A\hich  disturbed  the  Seleukidan  monarchy  after  the 
death  of  Antiochos  Theos. 

i\2V)it.c.      The   line   of    Bactrian   kings    initiated    bv    Diodotos    was 

Diodotos     ,      .      ,  1    •  p  1  .  .  i'         , 

II.  destnied  to  a  brieter  and  stormier  existence  than  that  enjoyed 

by  the  djnasty  of  the  Arsakidae.     Diodotos  himself  wore  his 

newly-won  crown  for  a  brief  space  only,  and  after  a  few  years 

was  succeeded  (c.  245  b.c.)  by  his  son  of  the  same  name, 

who  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  Parthian  king.^ 

'■.  i;}(i]!.c.      Diodotos  II  was  followed  (c,  230   b.c.)   by  Euthydemos, 

demos  and  ii  native   of   Magnesia,  who  seems  to  have  belonged  to  a 

Antiochos  different  family,  and  to  have  gained  the  crown  bv  successful 
the  Great.  ,  ;  °       .  .  -^ 

rebellion.    This  monarch  became  involved  in  a  long-contested 

war  with  Antiochos  the  Great  of  Syria  (223-187  b.c),  which 
c,  208  u.  c.  was  terminated  (c.  208  b.c.)  by  a   treaty   recognizing    the 

independence  of  the  Bactrian  kingdom.  Shortly  afterwards 
c. -206  a.  c.  (c.    206    B.C.)    Antiochos    crossed    the     Hindu    Kush,    and 

compelled  an  Indian  king  named  Subhagasena,  who  probably 

^  '  Arsaces  .  .  .  made      himself  as  the  date  of  the  commencement 

master    of    Hyrcania,    and    thus,  of  their  liberty '  (Justin,   Bk.    xli, 

invested   with  authority  over  two  ch.     1).      This    explicit     testimony 

nations,  raised  a  larf^e  army, through  outweighs  the  doubts  expressed  by 

fear  of  Selcucus   and   Theodotus,  numismatists  concerning  the  exis- 

king  of  the  Bactrians.     But  being  tence  of  the  second  Diodotos.     All 

soon  relieved  of  his  fears   by  the  the  extant  coins  seem  to  belong  to 

death  of  Theodotus,  he  made  peace  Diodotos  II;   his   father  probably 

and  alliance  with  his  son,  who  was  did   not    issue    coins    in    his    own 

also   named   Theodotus;    and   not  name.  Sir  H.  Howorth,  who  thinks 

long    after,    engaging    with    king  very    little    of    Justin's    authority, 

Seleucus  [Kallinikos],  wlio  came  to  denies  his  statement  that  Arsakes 

take  vengeance  on  the  revolters,  he  killed  Andragoras,  the  Seleukidan 

obtained  a  victory ;   and  the  Par-  viceroy   (JVum.   Chron.,   1905,   pp. 

thians  observe  the  day  on  which  it  217,  2-22). 
was  gained   with  great  solemnity, 


EUKRATIDES  i223 

ruled  in  the  Kabul  \;illey,  to  surrender  a  considerable  lunnber 
of  elephants  and  large  treasure.  Leaving  Androsthenes  of 
Cj'zicus  to  collect  this  war  indeninit\-,  Antiochos  in  person  led 
his  main  force  homeward  through  Arachosia  and  Drangiana 
to  Karmania.^ 

Demetrios,    son     of     EuthydcMUos,     and     son-in-law    of  <*•  l?"' b.  c. 
Antiochos,    who    had    given    him    a    daughter   in    marriage  ki„„  ^f 
when    the    independence    of    Bactria    was    recognized,    re-  the 
peated    his    father-in-law's     exploits     with     still     greater 
success,  and  conquered  a  considerable  portion  of  Northern 
India,  presumably  including   Kabul,  the   Panjab,  and  Sind 
(c.  190  B.C.)." 

The  distant  Indian  wars  of  Demetrios  necessarily  weakened  '••  IT)  «.  c 
his    hold    upon    Bactria,   and    afforded   the   opportunity   for  tides^^ 
successful  rebellion   to  one  Eukratides,  who   made  himself 
master  of  Bactria  about  175   B.C.,  and  became  involved  in 
many  wars  with  the  surrounding  states  and  tribes,   ^^•hich 
he    carried    on    with   varying  fortune  and  unvarying  spirit. 
Demetrios,  although  he  had  lost  Bactria,  long  retained  his 
hold  upon  his  eastern  conquests,  and  was  known  as  '  King  of 
the  Indians';  but  after  a  severe  struggle  the  victory  rested  c.  l«o- 156 
with  Eukratides,  who  was  an   opponent   not  easily  beaten  Hisindian 
and  is  credited  with  having  ^reduced  India  under  his  power',  wars. 
It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion,   when  shut  up  for  five 
months  in  a  fort  with  a  garrison  of  only  three  hundred  men, 

'  Polybius,  xi,  Sk     The  name  of  got  possession  not  only  of  Patalene 

the  Indian  king  is  given  as  Sopha-  but  of  the  kingdoms  of  Saraostos 

gasenas    by  the    historian,   which  and  Sigerdis,  which  constitute  the 

seems    to    represent  the   Sanskrit  remainder  of  the  coast.    Apollodo- 

Swhhdgasena.  ros,  in  short,  says  that  Bactriana 

2  '  The  Greeks   who   occasioned  is  the  ornament  of  all  Ariana.  They 

its   [Bactria's]    revolt,   became    so  extended  their  empire  even  as  far  as 

powerful  by  means  of  its  fertility  the  Seres  and  Phrynoi'(Strabo,  Bk. 

and  [the]  advantages  of  the  country,  xi,  sec.  xi,  1,  in  Falconer's  version), 

that  they  became  masters  of  Ariana  The    last   clause   may   point   to   a 

and  India,  according  to  Apollodoros  temporary  Greek  occupation  of  the 

of  Artemita.    Their  chiefs,  particu-  mountains  as  far  to  the  east  as  the 

larly  Menander  (if  he  really  crossed  \i6ivoi  nvpyoi  of  Ptolemy,  the  exact 

the  Hypanis  to  the  east  and  reached  position  of  which  cannot  be  deter- 

Isaraus),  conquered   more   nations  mined  at  present  (Stein,  Ancient 

than  Alexander.     These  conquests  Khotan,  p.  Hi,  cancelling  statement 

were  achieved  partly  by  Menander,  in  Snnd-fmried   Ji7ti7is  of  Khotav, 

partly  by  Demetrios,  son  of  Euthy-  p.  72\ 
demos,  king  of  the  Bactrians.  They 


224  INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 

lie  siu'ccoded  in  repelling  the  uttiick  (jf  a  host  of  sixty 
thousand  under  the  command  of  Demetrios.^ 

c.  [M  1).  c.  But  the  hard-won  triumph  was  short-lived.  While  Eukra- 
tides  was  on  his  homeward  march  from  India  attended  by  his 
son^  probably  Apollodotos,  whom  he  had  made  his  colleague 
in  po^^■er,  he  Mas  barbarously  murdered  by  the  unnatural 
youth,  who  is  said  to  have  gloried  in  his  monstrous  crime, 
driving  his  chariot  wheels  through  the  blood  of  his  father,  to 
whose  corpse  he  refused  even  the  poor  honour  of  burial.^ 

Heliokles,  The  murder  of  Eukratides  shattered  to  fragments  the 
kingdom  for  Mliich  he  had  fought  so  valiantly.  Another  son, 
named  Heliokles,  m  ho  assumed  the  title  of  '^the  Just ',  perhaps 
as  the  avenger  of  his  father^s  cruel  death,  enjoyed  for  a  brief 
space  a  precarious  tenure  of  power  in  Bactria.  Strato  I,  who 
also  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  family  of  Eukratides,  held 
a  principality  in  the  Panjab  for  many  years,  and  ^^•as  perhaps 
the  innnediate  successor  of  Apollodotos.  Agathokles  and 
Pantaleon,  whose  coins  are  specially  Indian  in  character,  were 
earlier  in  date,  and  contemporary  with  Euthydemos  and  Deme- 
trios.  It  is  evident  from  the  great  ^■ariet^'  of  the  royal  names 
in  the  coin-legends,  nearly  forty  in  number,  that  both  before 
and  after  the  death  of  Eukratides,  the  Indian  borderland 
was  parcelled  out  among  a  crond  of  Greek  princelings, 
for  the  most  part  related  either  to  the  family  of  Euthydemos 
and  Demetrios  or  to  that  of  their  rival  Eukratides.  Some 
of  these  princelings,  among  whom  Avas  Antialkidas,  were 
subdued  by  Eukratides,  who,  if  he  had  lived,  might  have 
consolidated  a  great  border  kingdom.  But  his  death  in  the 
hour  of  victory  hicreased  the  existing  confusion,  and  it  is 
(juite  impossible  to  make  a  satisfactory'  territorial  and 
chronological  arrangement  of  the  Indo-Greek  frontier  kings 
contemporary  with  and  posterior  to  Eukratides.  Their 
names,  whicli,  with  two  exceptions,  are  known  from   coins 

'  Justin,  xli,  6.  Apollodotos,  the  eldest  son  of  the 

*  Justin,  xli,  (').     All  the  leading  murdered  king.     But  (contra)  the 

numismatic  authorities  agree  that  Kapi^a    coins    of    Eukratides    are 

Heliokles  was  a  son  of  Eukratides.  sometimes   restruck    on    those    of 

Cunningham  (Xum.  Chron.,  18()J>,  Apollodotos  (Rapson,  /.  li.  A.  S., 

pp.     211-3)    shows    good    reasons  1!»<>J,  p.  ixi\ 
for  believing  that  the  parricide  was 


MENANDER  225 

only,   will   be  found   inchuled   in   the  list  appended  to   this 
chapter  (Appendix  J). 

One  name,  that  of  Menander^  stands  out  conspicuously  c.  155  n.c. 
among  the  crowd  of  obscure  princes.     He  seems  to  have  jer'T"' 
belonged  to  the  family  of  Eukratides,  and  to  have  had  his  invasion 
capital  at  Kabul,  whence  he  issued,  in  or  about  155  b.c,  to 
make  the  bold  invasion  of  India  described  in  the  last  chapter. 
About  two  years  later  he  was  obliged  to  retire  and  devote  his 
energies  to  the  encounter  with  dangers  which  menaced  him 
at  home,  due  to  the  never-ending  quarrels  with  his  neighbours 
on  the  frontier. 

Menander  was  celebrated  as  a  just  ruler,  and  when  he  Menan- 
died    was    honoured    with    magnificent    obsequies.     He  is  fame, 
supposed  to  have  been  a  convert   to   Buddhism,  and    has 
been  immortalized  under  the  name  of  Milinda  in    a  cele- 
brated dialogue,  entitled  ^The  Questions  of  Milinda',  which 
is  one  of  the  most  notable  books  in  Buddhist  literature.^ 

Heliokles,    the    son    of    Eukratides,    who    had    obtained  The  last 
Bactria  as  his  share  of  his  father's  extensive  dominion,  was  kj^g  ^f 
the  last  king  of  Greek  race  to  rule  the  territories  to  the  Bactria. 
north  of  the   Hindu  Kush.     While  the  Greek  princes  and 
princelings  were   struggling  one  with  the  other  in  obscure 
wars  which  history  has  not  condescended  to  record,  a  deluge 
was  preparing  in  the  steppes  of  Central  Asia,   which  was 
destined  to  sweep  them  all  away  into  nothingness. 

A  horde  of  nomads,  named  the  Yueh-chi,  whose  move-  Expulsion 
ments    will    be    more    particularly    described    in    the    next  ?  Sakas 
chapter,   were   driven   out   of    North-western    China    about  chi. 
170  B.  c,  and  compelled  to  migrate  westwards  by  the  route  to 
the  north  of  the  deserts.^     Some  years  later,  before  160  ]j.c., 

'  The  obsequies  are  described  by  ism  in  Bactria  and  India '  (/.  Hell. 

Plutarch  {lieipubl.  yer.  praecepta,  Sor.,    1902,    p.    272) ;    and    Sarat 

quoted  textually  in  Num.  Chron.,  Chandra  Das  in  /.  Buddhist  Text 

1869,    p.    229).     The    'Questions'  and  lleseorch  Soc,  vol.  vii  {1901), 

have    been    translated    by    Rhys  pp.  1-6.    The  form  Mllindrn  occurs 

Davids  in /S.-B.ii'.,  vols.  XXXV,  xxxvi,  in    Kshemendra's    Avaddna    Kal- 

For  identification  of  Milinda  with  palaUi  and  in  the  Tibetan  Tangyur 

Menander,   doubted    by  Waddell,  collection. 

see  Garbe,  Beitruye  zur  indischen  ~  165  u.  c.  is  the  date  commonly 

Kulturgeschichte,    BerHn,    1903,   p.  given  by  Chinese  scholars.    Franke 

109,  note;  Tarn, 'Notes  on  Hellen-  dates  the  defeat  of  the  Yueh-chi 


226  INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 

they   encountered    another    horde,    the   Sakas   or   Se,    who 
occupied  the  territories  lying  to  the  north  of  the  Jaxartes 
(Syr  Darya)  river,  as  ah-eady  mentioned.^ 
Nomad  The  Sakas,  accompanied  by  cognate  tribes,  were  forced  to 

'TBactria  "^^^"^  "^  ^  southerly  direction,  and  in  course  of  time  entered 
and  India.  India  from  the  north,  possibly  by  more  roads  than  one.    The 
flood  of  barbarian   invasion   spread    also  to  the  west,  and 
l)urst  upon  the  Parthian  kingdom  and  Bactria  in  the  period 
between  140  and  120  b.c.     The  Parthian  king,  Pin-aates  II, 
the  immediate  successor  of  Mithradates  I,  was  killed  in  battle 
with  the  nomads  about  127  b.c.  ;  and  some  four  years  later, 
Artabanus  I,  who  foUo^ved  him  on  the  Parthian  throne,  met 
the  same  fate.     The  Hellenistic  monarchy,  which  must  have 
been   weakened   already  by  the  growth  of  the  Parthian  or 
Persian   power,    was   then    finally    extinguished.       The  last 
Graeco-Bactrian  king  was  Heliokles,  with  whom  Greek  rule 
to  the  north  of  the  Hindu  Kush  disappeared  for  ever.^ 
Sakaoccu-      The  valley  of  the  Hilmand  (Erymandrus)  river,  the  modern 
Sistan  ^     Sistan,  known  as  Sakastene,  or  the  Saka  country,  probably 
&c.  had  been  occupied  by  Sakas  at  an   earlier   date,  but  it  is 

possible  that  part  of  the  influx  in  the  second  century  B.C. 
may  have  reached  that  province." 

Branches  of  the  barbarian  stream  which  penetrated 
the  Indian  passes  deposited  settlements  at  Taxila  in  the 
Panjab  and  Mathura  on  the  Jumna,  where  foreign  princes, 
with  the  title  of  satrap,  ruled  for  more  than  a  century, 
seemingly  in  subordination  to  the  Parthian  power. 

Yet  another  section  of  the  horde,  at  a  later  date,  perhaps 
about  tlie  middle  of  the  first  century  after  Christ,  pushed  on 
southwards    and    occupied    the    peninsula   of    Surashtra    or 

aboid     170    b.c.      The    southward  icai    opixijQivTCi    a-ird    rrjs    Trtpaias   rov 

migration  of  the  Sakas,  according  'la^aprov,  ttjs  Kara  Sd/fas  ical  207810- 

to  him,  must  be   placed   between  vovi,  fjv  Karuxov  2d/fat  (Strabo,  xi, 

171  and  KiO,  but  nearer  the  latter  8,    2  .     The    attempts    of   various 

date  {Beitriigti  zur  Kenntnlss   der  writers  to  identify  the  Asioi   and 

Tiirkvolker,  pp,  29,  5.5\  other    tribes     named    are    unsuc- 

'  Ante,  p.  225.  cessful. 

2  MaKtara    St    yvwpinoi     jfyovaffi  •'  According  to  Sir  H.  McMahon 

Tail'  voixdSwv  ol  tovs  "EWrjvas  d(pe\u-  '  the  Scythians  i  Sakae)  were  turned 

fxivoi  TTiv  TiaKTpiavr]v,"AGioi,  ical  Ha-  out    about    27.j    a. n.'    {Geoyr.    J., 

aiavoi,  Hal    Toxapot,   Kal    'S.aKupavkoi ,  IJMXi,  p.  209). 


RELATIONS  WITH  PARTIIIA  9.9,1 

« 

Katliiawar,  founding  a  Saka  dynasty  which  lasted  until  it  was 
destroyed  by  Chandra-gupta  II,  Vikramaditya,  about  a.  d.  390. 

Strato  I,  Sotor,  a  Greek  king  of  Kabul  and  tbe  Panjai),  Satraps  of 
wbo  was  to  some  extent  contemporary  with  Ileliokles,  was  >i;ith,ir:t. 
succeeded  by  Strato  II,  Philopator,  his  grandson  ;  who  again, 
apparently,  was  displaced  at  Taxila  by  certain  foreign  satraps, 
who  may  or  may  not  have  been  Sakas.  The  satraps  of 
Mathura  were  closely  connected  with  those  of  Taxila,  and 
belong  to  the  same  period,  about  50  n.  c.  or  later.^ 
Their  names  seem  to  be  Persian. 

The  movements  of  the  Sakas  and  allied  nomad  tribes  were  Relations 
closely  connected  with  the  development  of  the  Parthian  or  parthia. 
Persian  power  under  the  Arsakidan  kings.  Mithradates  I, 
a  very  able  monarch  (c.  171  to  136  b.c),  who  was  for  many 
years  the  contemporary  of  Eukratides,  king  of  Bactria, 
succeeded  in  extending  his  dominions  so  widely  that  his 
po\A'er  was  felt  as  far  as  the  Indus,  and  probably  even  to  the 
east  of  that  river.  I  see  no  good  reason  for  doubting  the 
truth  of  the  explicit  statement  of  Orosius  that,  subsequent 
to  the  defeat  of  the  general  of  Demetrios  and  the  occupation 
of  Babylon,  Mithradates  I  annexed  to  his  dominions  the 
territory  of  all  the  natiojiis  between  the  Indus  and  the 
Hydaspes,  or  Jihlam  river.  The  chiefs  of  Taxila  and 
Mathura  would  not  have  assumed  the  purely  Persian  title 
of  satrap,  if  they  had  not  regarded  themselves  as  subordi- 
nates of  the  Persian  or  Parthian  sovereign ;  and  the  close 
relations  between  the  Parthian  monarchy  and  the  Indian 
borderland  at  this  period  are  demonstrated  by  the  appearance 

'  The  first  known  satrap  of  Taxila  &c'. ,   of   whom   coins   are   extant, 

was  Liaka,  whose  son  was  Patika.  The  coinage   of  the   two   Stratos, 

In  the  year  78  Liaka  was  directly  which   covers   a    period    of   about 

subordinate  to  king  Moga,  who  is  seventy  years,  has  been  elucidated 

generally  supposed  to  be  Maues  or  by  Prof.  Rapson  {Corolla  Xumis- 

Mauas  of  the  coins.   Sodasa,  satrap  mnficd,    p.    2i5  ;    Oxford,    1!K)G). 

of  Mathura  in  the  year  72,  was  the  Dr.  Vogel  suggests  that  Rajuvida 

son  of  satrap  Rajuvula,  whose  later  and  his  son  may  have  been  satraps 

coins  imitate  those  of  Strato   II.  subordinate   to    Huvishka,    whose 

The   era  or  eras   to   which   those  accession  I  place  in  a.  d.  123  {A.  S. 

dates   refer  have  not  been  deter-  Proff.  Rep.  1909~10,  N.  Circle,  p.  9). 

mined.     Rajuvula    succeeded    the  If  that  be  correct,,  the    date    72 

satraps   Hagana  and    Hagamfisha  would   be   in   the   Saka  era=A.n. 

(?  brothers),   who  displaced  native  1)0.     But  there  are  difficulties. 
Riijas  named  Gomitra,  Ramadatta, 

Q  2 


228 


INDO-PARTHIAN  DYNASTIES 


Maues. 


Indo- 

Parthian 

kings. 


of  a  long  line  of  princes  of  Parthian  origin,  who  now  enter 
on  the  scene. ^ 

The  earliest  of  these  Indo-Parthian  kings  apparently  was 
Maues  or  Manas,  who  attained  power  in  the  Western  Panjab 
perhaps  about  120  b.c,  and  adopted  the  title  of  *  Great  King 
of  Kuigs^  (/3ao-iAe(o?  ^amX^Mv  fxeydkov),  which  had  been  used 
for  the  first  time  by  either  Mithradates  I  or  Mithradates  II. 
His  coins  are  closely  related  to  those  of  both  those  monarchsj 
as  well  as  to  those  of  the  unmistakably  Parthian  border  chief, 
M'ho  called  himself  Arsakes  Theos.  The  king  Moga,  to 
whom  the  Taxilian  satrap  was  immediately  subordinate,  is 
usually  identified  with  the  personage  whose  name  appears  on 
tlie  coins  as  Mauou  in  the  genitive  case.'^ 

The  story  of  the  Indo-Parthian  dynasties  really  being  that 
of  certain  outlying  dependencies  of  the  Parthian  empire,  we 
should  be  in  a  position  to  understand  fully  the  relations  of  the 
Indo-Parthian  rulers  to  the  world  of  their  day,  if  our  know- 
ledge of  Parthian  history  were  more  complete  than  it  is  or  is 
likely  to  be.  The  material  actually  available  for  the  recon- 
struction in  outline  of  Indo-Parthian  history  is  so  slight,  con- 
sisting largely  of  inferences  from  numismatic  details,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  present  an  ordered  narrative  of  indisputable 
facts,  and  the  results  of  investigation  necessarily  must  be  in 
great  part  speculative.  Subject  to  these  cautions,  the  follow- 
ing sketch  expresses  my  views  of  the  facts — whether  ascer- 
tained or  merely  probable — as  obtained  from  special  study 


'  The  exact  limits  of  the  reign 
of  Mithradates  I  are  not  known. 
Justin  (xli,  6)  states  that  '  almost 
at  the  same  time  that  Mithradates 
ascended  the  throne  among  the 
Parthians,  Eukratides  began  to 
reign  among  the  Bactrians  ;  both 
of  them  being  great  men '.  The 
text  of  the  passage  in  Orosius  is  : 
*  Mithridates,  tunc  siquidem,  rex 
Parthorum  sextus  ah  Arsace,  victo 
Demetrii  praefecto  Babylonam  ur- 
bem  finesque  eius  universes  victor 
invasit.  Omnes  praeterea  gentes 
quae  inter  Hydaspen  fluvium  et 
Indum  iacent  subegit'  (Bk.  v,  ch. 
iv,    sec.    I(>;     ed.    Zangemeister, 


Vienna,  1883^.  The  event  may  be 
dated  about  138  jt.  c,  towards  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Mithradates. 

•^  Von  Sallet,  Nachfolger,  p.  IK). 
Von  Gutschmid  compares  the  name 
Maues  or  Mauas  with  that  of 
Mauakes  (v.  1.  Mabakes),  who 
commanded  the  Saka  contingent 
of  mounted  archers  in  the  army  of 
Darius  at  Gaugamela  or  Arbela 
(Arrian,  Auab.  iii,  8).  The  chrono- 
logy is  discussed  in  ./.  R.  A.  S., 
1903,  p.  46,  and  in  Z.  D.  M.  6'., 
1906,  pp.  49-7-2.  For  the  Indo- 
Parthian  coins  see  Catal.  Coins 
/.  M.,  vol.  i,  pp.  3,5-62. 


MAUES,  VONONES,  AZES  220 

of  the  (luestion.     The  reader  will  uiulerstjiiul  that  the  dates 
suggested  are  open  to  eorreetion. 

Mueh  obscurity  has  been  caused  by  the  failure  of  writers  Two 
on  the  subject  to  recognize  the  plain  truth  that,  besides '  ^"''"^  ^^^' 
some  subordinate  satraps,  there  were  two  main  lines  of 
Indo-Parthian  princes,  one  of  which  ruled  in  Arachosia  and 
Sistfin,  while  the  other  governed  the  Western  Panjab,  or 
kingdom  of  Taxila.  Maues,  as  has  been  seen,  became  king, 
perhaps,  about  120  b.  c,  of  the  latter  province,  which,  in  or 
about  138  B.C.,  had  been  annexed  to  Parthia  by  Mithradates  I. 
It  is  probable  that  tlie  direct  administration  of  the  newly- 
conquered  province  by  the  government  of  Ctesiphon  lasted 
only  for  a  few  years.  The  struggle  with  the  nomads,  \\hich 
cost  Phraates  II  and  Artabanus  their  lives,  between  130  and 
120  B.C.,  must  have  caused  a  relaxation  in  the  grip  of  the 
central  power  on  remote  dependencies  like  the  Indian  border- 
lands ;  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  Maues,  who  may  have 
been  a  Saka,  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  thus  offered 
to  establish  himself  upon  the  Panjab  throne  in  the  enjoyment 
of  practical,  if  not  theoretical,  independence. 

About   the   same  time,  or  a  few   years   later,  Vonones,  Vononcs, 
a  Parthian,  became  king  of  Arachosia  and  Sistan,  no  doubt  ^^^_ '" 
as   a  feudatory   of   the   Great  King   at  Ctesiphon.     Those  chosia. 
territories  were  administered  by  him  and  his  relatives  for 
a  brief  period — some  twenty- five  years — the  last  of  his  line 
being  his  nephew  Azes,  who  occupied  the  position  of  viceroy 
or  subordinate  colleague  of  his  father  Spalirises,  brother  of 
Vonones. 

The  Parthian  power,  which  had  suffered  severely  from  the  Azes  I. 
shock  of  the  nomad  attacks,  recovered  under  the  vigorous  ^26^11' 
government  of  Mithradates  II,  the  Great  (ace.  c.  123  B.C.). 
Apparently,  that  strong  ruler  took  over  the  direct  govern- 
ment of  the  provinces  which  had  been  administered  by 
Vonones  and  his  family,  and  also  reasserted  his  suzerainty 
over  the  less  accessible  Panjab.  Azes,  the  viceroy  of  Ara- 
chosia and  Sistan,  was  then  transferred  to  Taxila,  where  he 
succeeded  Maues  about  90  n.  c,  and  governed  the  province 
as   a   subordinate   king   under   Mithradates.       Azes    I   was 


230 


INDO-PARTHIAN  DYNASTIES 


Reign  of 

Gondo- 

phares. 


Parthian 
chiefs  in 
Indus 
delta. 


succeeded  on  the  throne  of  the  Punjab,  first  by  his  son 
Azilises  and  then  by  his  grandson  Azes  II.  Azes  I  certainly 
was  a  powerful  prince,  and  enjoyed  a  long  reign,  perhaps 
extending  to  half  a  century.  It  is  known  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era  no  part  of  India  was  included 
in  the  Parthian  empire,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  during 
the  course  of  his  long  reign  Azes  I  succeeded  in  establishing 
his  independence.  Azilises  and  Azes  II  also  seem  to  have 
enjoyed  a  prolonged  tenure  of  power.  In  the  time  of  the 
latter,  the  strategos,  or  satrap,  Aspavarma,  and  the  satrap 
Zeionises  assisted  their  sovereign  in  the  administration  of  the 
Panjab. 

About  A.D.  20  Azes  U  is  supposed  to  have  been  succeeded 
by  Gondophares,  A\'ho  seems  to  have  conquered  Sind  and 
Arachosia,  making  himself  master  of  a  wide  dominion  free 
from  Parthian  control.  When  he  died,  about  a.d.  60,  his 
kingdom  was  divided,  the  Western  Panjab  falling  to  the 
share  of  his  brother's  son  Abdagases,  while  Arachosia  and 
Sind  passed  under  the  rule  of  Orthagnes,  Avho  was  followed 
by  Pakores.  No  successor  of  Abdagases  is  known.  About 
the  middle  of  the  first  century  the  Panjab  M^as  annexed  by 
the  Kushan  king,  Hima  or  Wima  (Kadphises  II).  Arachosia 
and  Sind  probably  shared  the  fate  of  the  Panjab.^ 

But  petty  Parthian  principalities  may  have  continued  to 
exist  for  some  time  longer  in  the  delta  of  the  Indus.  The 
author  of  the  Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,  writing 
probably  towards  the  close  of  the  first  century  after  Christ, 
found  the  valle}'  of  the  Lower  Indus,  which  he  called  Scythia, 
under   the   rule   of    Parthian   chiefs,   engaged    in    unceasing 


^  According  to  Philostratus, 
ApoUonius  of  Tyana  twice  visited 
Bardanes  or  Vardanes,  king  of 
Parthia,  who  reigned  from  c  a.  d. 
39  to  17,  and  resided  at  Babylon. 
Prof.  Petrie  seems  to  be  right  in 
holding  that  the  travels  of  Apol- 
lonius  in  India  should  be  dated  in 
A.  It.  43-44.  At  that  time  Philostra- 
tus represents  the  Western  Pan- 
jab as  being  under  the  government 
of  King  Phraotes,  evidently  a  Par- 
thian.    The  Satrap  on  the  eastern 


side  of  the  Indus  was  subordinate 
to  Phraotes  of  Taxila  and  indepen- 
dent of  Bardanes  {ApoUonius, 
Bk.  I,  ch.  '28 ;  Bk.  II,  ch.  17  ;  Bk. 
Ill,  ch.  58.  For  Phraotes,  see 
Bk.  II,  ch.  26-31).  Although  the 
details  of  the  Indian  travels  are 
fictitious,  Philostratus  seems  to 
have  been  right  in  placing  the 
kingdom  of  Taxila  under  an  in- 
dependent Parthian  ruler  at  or 
about  the  date  named. 


GONDOPHARES  231 

internecine  strife.  Tlie  Indus  at  that  time  had  seven  mouths^ 
of  which  only  the  central  one  was  navigahle.  The  com- 
mercial port,  known  to  the  traveller  as  Barharikon,  was 
situated  upon  this  stream  ;  and  the  capital,  Minnagar,  lay 
inland.  The  extensive  changes  which  have  occurred  in  the 
rivers  of  Sind  during  the  course  of  eighteen  centuries  preclude 
the  possibility  of  satisfactory  identifications  of  either  of  these 
towns.^ 

Special    hiterest    attaches     to    the    Indo-Parthian    king  Goiido- 
Gondophares  because  his  name  is  associated  in  very  ancient  and'st 
Christian  tradition  with  that  of  St.  Thomas,  the  apostle  of  Thomas, 
the  Parthians.     The  belief  that  the  Parthians  were  allotted 
as  the  peculiar  sphere  of  the  missionary  labours  of  St.  Thomas 
goes  back  to  the  time  of  Origen,  who  died  in  the  middle  of 
the  third   century.     The  Acts  of  Sf.  Thomas,  nearly  con- 
temporary with  Origen,  as  well  as  later  tradition,  generally 
associate   the  Indians,  rather  than  the  Parthians,  with  the 
name  of  the  ajoostle,  but  the  terms  'India'  and  'Indians' 
had  such  vague  signification  in  ancient  times  that  the  dis- 
crepancy is  not  great.     The  earliest  form  of   the   tradition 
clearly  deserves  the  greater  credit,  and  there  is  no  apparent 
reason  for  discrediting  the  statement  handed  down  by  Origen 
that  Thomas  received  Parthia  as  his  allotted  region. 

The  legend  connecting  St.  Thomas  with  king  Gondophares  The 
appears  for  the  first  time  in  the  original  Syrian  text  of  the  ^^^"'^  • 
Acts  of  St.  Thomas,  which  was  composed  at  about  the  same 
date  as  the  writings  of  Origen.     The  substance  of  the  long 
story  may  be  set  forth  briefly  as  follows : — 

*  When  the  twelve  apostles  divided  the  countries  of   the 
world  among  themselves  by  lot,  India  fell  to  the  share  of 

^  Periplus,   ch.    38.     The    work  but  in  a  subsequent  letter  to  me  he 

used  to  be  ascribed  erroneously  to  expresses  his  preference  for  a.  d.  80, 

Arrian.     It    has    been    translated  which    may    be  taken   as   a   near 

with    notes    by    McCrindle    {Ind.  approximation  to  the  truth.     The 

Ant.,  viii,  1879,   pp.  108-51),  and  'Indus'  should  be  understood  to 

by  W.  H.  Schoff,  1912.     The  date  mean  the  Mihran  of  Sind,  including 

A.D.  2i6  or  247  for  the  final  redac-  the  Indus  proper,  as  explained  by 

tion    of    the    work    proposed    by  Raverty.     McCrindle's  version  was 

Reinaud,  is  impossible.    McCrindle  also  published  separately  (Calcutta 

dates  it  between  a.d.  80  and  89.  and  London,  1879). 
Mr.  Schoff  (p.  !.■))  suggests  a.  d.  fiO, 


232  INDO-PARTHIAN  DYNASTIES 

Judas,  surnamed  Thomas,  or  the  Twin,  who  showed  un- 
wilHngness  to  start  on  his  mission.  At  that  time  an  Indian 
merchant  named  Habban  ^  arrived  in  tlie  country  of  the 
south,  charged  by  his  master,  Gundaphar,^  king  of  India, 
to  bring  back  with  him  a  cunning  artificer  able  to  build 
a  ])alace  meet  for  the  king.  In  order  to  overcome  the 
apostle's  reluctance  to  start  for  the  East,  our  Lord  appeared  to 
the  merchant  in  a  vision,  sold  the  apostle  to  him  for  twenty 
pieces  of  silver,  and  commanded  St.  Thomas  to  serve  king 
Gundaphar  and  build  the  palace  for  him. 

*In  obedience  to  his  Lord's  commands,  the  apostle  sailed 
next  day  with  HabbJin  the  merchant,  and  during  the  voyage 
assiu'ed  his  companion  concerning  his  skill  in  architecture 
and  all  manner  of  work  in  w'ood  and  stone.  Wafted  by 
favouring  winds  their  ship  (puckly  reached  the  harbour  of 
Sandaruk."'  Landing  there,  the  voyagers  shared  in  the 
marriage  feast  of  the  king's  daughter,  and  used  their  time 
so  well  that  bride  and  bridegroom  were  converted  to  the 
true  faith.  Thence  the  saint  and  the  merchant  proceeded 
on  their  voyage,  and  came  to  the  court  of  Gundaphar,  king 
of  India.  St.  Thomas  promised  to  build  him  the  palace 
within  the  space  of  six  months,  but  expended  the  monies 
given  to  him  for  that  purpose  in  almsgiving ;  and,  when 
called  to  account,  explained  that  he  was  building  for  the 
king  a  palace  in  heaven,  not  made  with  hands.  He 
preached  with  such  zeal  and  grace  that  the  king,  his  brother 
Gad,*  and  multitudes  of  the  people  embraced  the  faith. 
Many  signs  and  wonders  were  wrought  by  the  holy 
apostle. 
Martyr-  '  After  a  time,  Sifur,^  the  general  of  king  Mazdai,"  arrived, 

dom  of  St.  and  besought  the  apostle  to  come   with  him   and   heal   his 
Thomas.     ^yj£g  ^^^^  daughter.     St.  Thomas  hearkened  to  his  prayer, 
and  went  with  Sifur  to  the  city  of  king  Mazdai,  riding  in 
a    chariot.     He  left   his   converts   in    the    country   of   king 
Gundaphar  under  the  care  of  deacon   Xanthippos.'''     King 

^  Syriac — Habbrin  ;  Greek— 'A/3-  — FaS.     Other  relatives  of  the  king 

/3df7;s;  Latin — Abban  or  Abbanes.  are  also  mentioned. 

^  Syriac — Gundaphar,   or    Gud-  °  Syriac— Sifur  ;    Greek — 'Si<pQjp, 

naphar  ;  Greek — TowSdfupos,  Tow-  "XKpwp,  ^icpopos,  'S,i(pwpas,  or  ^ri/^fpopos ; 

Sta<i)6po?,    or     rowTd(popos ;     Latin,  Latin— Saphor,  Saphyr,  Sapor,  Si- 

Gundaforus,  or  Gundoforus.  forus,  Sephor,  Siforatus,  Sinforus, 

^   Syriac — Sandaruk,    or     Sana-  Sinfurus,  or  Syraphoras. 
druk;  Greek — '  AvSpanoKis ;  Latin —  "  Syriac — Mazdai;  Greek — Mict- 

Andranopolis,  Andranobolys,   An-  Saios,  or  MtaStos ;  Latin — Misdeus, 

dronopoiis,  or  Adrianopolis.  Mesdeus,  or  Migdeus, 

*  Syriac  and  Latin— Gad;  Greek  'Syriac — Xanthippos  ;   Greek — 

E(i'0(i>u/y ;  Latin  —  omitted. 


LEGEND  OF  ST.  THOMAS  233 

Mazdai  waxed  wroth  when  his  (|ueen  Tertia^  and  a  noble 
lady  named  Mygdonia "  were  converted  by  St.  Thomas,  who 
was  accordingly  sentenced  to  death  and  executed  by  four 
soldiers,  who  pierced  him  with  spears  on  a  mountain  without 
the  city.  The  apostle  was  buried  in  the  sepulchre  of  the 
ancient  kings ;  but  the  disciples  secretly  removed  his  bones, 
and  carried  them  away  to  the  AVest.'"' 

Writers  of  later  date,  subsetjuent  to  the  seventh  century.  Criticism 
profess  to  know  the  name  of  the  city  where  the  apostle  |  , 
suffered  martyrdom,  and  call  it  variously  Kalamina,  Kala- 
mita,  Kalamena,  or  Karamcna,  and  much  ingenuity  has  been 
expended  in  futile  attempts  to  identify  this  city.  But  the 
scene  of  the  martyrdom  is  anonymous  in  the  earlier  versions 
of  the  tale,  and  Kalamina  should  be  regarded  as  a  place  in 
fairyland  which  it  is  vain  to  try  and  locate  on  a  map.  The 
same  observation  applies  to  the  attempts  at  the  identification 
of  the  port  variously  called  Sandaruk,  Andrapolis,  and  so 
forth.  The  whole  story  is  pure  mythology,  and  the  geography 
is  as  mythical  as  the  tale  itself.  Its  interest  in  the  eyes  of 
the  historian  of  India  is  confined  to  the  fact  that  it  proves 
that  the  real  Indian  king,  Gondophares,  was  remembered 
after  his  death,  and  was  associated  in  popular  belief  with  the 
apostolic  mission  to  the  Indians,  and  so,  according  to  Origen, 
with  the  Parthians.  Inasmuch  as  Gondophares  certainly 
was  a  Parthian  prince,  and  was  too  little  known  to  the  world 
in  general  to  be  named  in  a  legend  unless  he  really  had  some 
connexion  with  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  his 
dominions,  it  is  permissible  to  believe  that  a  Christian 
mission  actually  visited  the  Indo-Parthians  of  the  north- 
western frontier  during  his  reign,  whether  or  not  that  mis- 

'  Syriac — Tertia  ;  Greek — Teprla,  The   story    in    the    text    and    the 

TtpfviiavT),    or    IfpriavTi ;     Latin —  references  to  early  Christian  writers 

Treptia,  Tertia,    Trepicia,  or   Tri-  are    taken,    without    verification, 

plicia.  from  the  almost  exhaustive  essay 

2  Syriac — Mygdonia;      Greek —  by    Mr.  W.  R.  Philipps,    entitled 

MvySovia ;      Latin — Mygdonia,     or  '  The   Connection   of  St.   Thomas 

Migdonia.  the  Apostle  with  India  '  {Ind.  Ant., 

^  Sokrates  Scholastikos  vfifth  cen-  vol.  xxxii,  1!)()S,  pp.  1-15,  1+.5-60). 

tury)  and  other  writers  testify  that  Bishop  Medlycott's  book,  India  and 

the  relics  were  enshrined  at  Edessa  the  Apostle  Thonias,  190,5,  supplies 

in  Mesopotamia,  where  a  magnifi-  an  invaluable  collection  of  eccle- 

cent  memorial  church  was  erected.  siastical  texts. 


234  INDO-PARTHIAN  DYNASTIES 

sioii  MJis  conducted  by  St. Thomas  in  person.    The  traditional 

association  of  the  name  of  the  apostle  with  that  of  king 

Gondophares  is  in  no  A^ay  at   variance  with  the   generally 

received  chronology  of  the  reign  of  tlie  latter  as   deduced 

from  coins  and  an  inscription.'^    On  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be 

observed  tliat  there  is  no  trace  of  the  subsequent  existence 

of  a  Christian  community  in  the  dominions  which  had  been 

ruled  by  Gondophares,  and  that  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the 

tradition   that  tlie  apostle   was  martyred  at  St.   Thomas's 

Mount  near  Madras,  he  cannot  possibly  have  suffered  in  the 

kingdom  of  Mazdai.^     After  much  consideration,  I  am  now 

of  opinion  that  the  story  of  the  personal  ministration  and  the 

martyrdom  of  St.  Thomas  in  the  realms  of  Gondopliares  and 

Mazdai  should  not  be  accepted.     But   unless   a   Christian 

mission  connected  by  tradition  with  the  rite  of  St.  Thomas 

had  visited  the   Indo-Parthian   borderland    it  is  difficult  to 

imagine  how  the  obscure  name  of   Gondophares  can  have 

come  into  the  story.     If  anybody   chooses  to   believe  that 

St.  Thomas  personally  visited  the  Indo-Parthian  kingdom 

his  belief  cannot  be  considered  unreasonable.     It  is  possible 

^  The  coins  and  inscription  give  known  to   be  of  much   help,  and 

the  king's  name  in  sundry  variant  KharoshthT     palaeography     needs 

forms   (in   the    genitive    case)— as  further  study.    I  am  not  convinced 

Gondophares,   Guduphara,    Guda-  of  the  alleged  late  date  for  Gondo- 

pharna,  &c.    The  inscription,  which  phares. 

was  found  at  Takht-i-Bahai,  NE.  of  ^  Father  Joseph  Dahlmann,  S.  J., 
Peshawar,  is  dated  in  the  2(Jth  has  devoted  an  ingenious  treatise, 
year  of  the  Maharaya  Guduphara,  entitled  Die  Thomas-Legende  und  die 
in  the  year  103  of  an  unspecified  dltestcn  historischen  Beziehungen 
era.  The  archaeological  evidence  den  Chrintentums  zum  fernen  Osten 
for  the  reign  is  discussed  by  Von  im  Lichte  der  indischen  AKertums- 
Sallet  {Nachfol(/er  Ahxanders  des  /r*u/<i«  (Freiburg im  Breisgau,  1912), 
irrossen) ;  Percy  Gardner  {B.  M.  to  an  attempt  to  establish  the  his- 
Catal.  Coins  of  Gi-eek  and  Sri/fhic  torical  credibility  of  the  Gondo- 
Kincfs  of  India;  Senart  {Notes  d'l' pi-  phares  story.  I  have  read  his  work 
qraphie  indienne.  No.  iii,  p.  11);  carefully  without  being  convinced. 
V.A.Smith  ('The  Kushan  period  of  I  have  not  read  Heck,  Hat  der 
Indian  History ',  in  ./.  /»'.  A.S.,  1903,  heUiye  A}>ostel  Thomas  das  Evange- 
p.  10) ;  and  many  other  writers.  Hum  iinprcdiijt  f  Prof.  Garbe,  re- 
Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji  believes  the  date  viewing  both  works,  comes  to  the 
103  to  refer  to  the  Saka  era  and  so  conclusion  that  the  Thomas  legend 
lo  be  equivalent  to  A.  D.  181,  basing  in  all  its  forms  is  undeserving  of 
his  opinion  chiefly  on  characteristics  credit,  and  that  the  Christianity  of 
of  tiie  KharoshthI  script  in  the  in-  Southern  India  probably  came  from 
scriptions,  and  partly  on  an  inter-  Persia  as  a  consequence  of  the 
prctation  of  Parthian  history  {Ind.  persecution  of  Christians  in  that 
Ant.,  1!)08,  pp.  47,  62).  But  the  country  in  a.  d.  343  and  414  {Ost- 
history  of  Parthia  is  too  imperfectly  asiatisclic  Zeitschrift,  I,  364). 


TRADITIONS  OF  SOUTHERN  INDIA       235 

that,  ;is  Bishop  Medlycott  suggests,  he  may  have  first  visited 
Goiulophares,  and  then  travelled  to  Southern  India. 

The  alleged  connexion  of  the  apostle  with  Southern  India  Alleged 
and  the  Mailapur  shrine  near  Madras,  reverenced  as  San  ^f  ^^Z"" 
Thome  by  the  Portuguese,  may  be  considered  conveniently  Thomas  to 
in  this  place.  The  traditions  of  the  ^  Christians  of  St.  Thomas' 
on  the  western,  or  Malabar  coast,  assert  that  the  apostle, 
coming  from  Socotra  in  a.d.  52,  landed  at  Cranganore 
(Muziris  of  Pliny  and  the  Pcriplus)  on  that  coast,  and  laid 
the  foundations  of  seven  Christian  centres  in  the  province ; 
that  he  passed  over  to  the  Ma'abar  or  (/oromandel  coast, 
where  he  suffered  martyrdom  near  Mailapur  ;  and  that  sub- 
sequent persecution  extirpated  the  Christian  churches  of 
Coromandel.  Bishop  Medlycott,  in  a  treatise  full  of  abstruse 
learning,  has  endeavoured  to  prove  the  historical  truth  of 
this  tradition,  but,  in  my  judgement,  without  complete  success. 
The  Mailapur  legend  of  the  martyrdom,  like  that  of  the 
Acta,  seems  to  be  purely  mythical,  and  the  Christians  of 
Malabar  have  not  disdained  to  apply  the  legend  of  the  Ada 
to  their  own  country.  But,  although  the  alleged  martyrdom, 
whether  in  the  kingdom  of  Mazdai  or  near  Mailapur,  may  be 
confidently  rejected  as  unhistorical,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
a  personal  visit  of  the  apostle  to  Southern  India  was  easily 
feasible  in  tbe  conditions  of  the  time,  and  that  there  is 
nothing  incredible  in  the  traditional  belief  that  he  came  by 
way  of  Socotra,  where  an  ancient  Christian  settlement  lui- 
doubtedly  existed.  The  actual  fact  of  such  personal  visit 
cannot  be  either  proved  or  disproved.  I  am  now  satisfied 
that  the  Christian  Church  of  Southern  India  is  extremely 
ancient,  whether  it  Avas  founded  by  St.  Thomas  in  person 
or  not,  and  that  its  existence  may  be  traced  back  to  the  third 
century  with  a  high  degree  of  probability.  Mr.  Milne  Rae 
carried  his  scepticism  too  far  when  he  attributed  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Christian  congregations  to  missionaries  from  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris  in  the  fifth  or  sixth  century.^ 

For  a  period  of  nearly  two  centuries  after  the  beginning  of  i^J^^gj**'^'^ 

the  nomad  and  Parthian  invasions,  the  northern  portions  of  Greek 

princes. 
1  See  App.  M. 


236  INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 

llu-  Indian  borderland,  comprising  probably  tbc  valley  of 
the  Kfilnd  river,  the  Siiwat  valley,  some  neighbouring  districts 
to  the  north  and  north-west  of  Peshawar,  and  the  Eastern 
Panjfib,  remained  under  the  government  of  local  Greek 
princes ;  who,  whether  independent,  or  subject  to  the 
suzerainty  of  a  Parthian  overlord,  certainly  exercised  the 
prerogative  of  coining  silver  and  bronze  money, 
r.  A.D.  20.  The  last  of  these  Indo-Greek  rulers  was  Hermaios,  who 
Kadphl-^'  succumbed  to  the  Yueh-chi,  or  Kushan,  chief,  Kadphises  I, 
ses  I.  about  A.D.  20,  when  that  enterprising  monarch  added  Kfibul 
to  the  growing  Yueh-chi  empire.^  The  Yueh-chi  chief  at 
first  struck  coins  jointly  in  the  name  of  himself  and  the 
Greek  prince,  retaining  on  the  obverse  the  portrait  of 
Hermaios  with  his  titles  in  Greek  letters.  After  a  time, 
while  still  preserving  the  familiar  portrait,  he  substituted 
his  oMii  name  and  style  in  the  legend.  The  next  step 
taken  was  to  replace  the  bust  of  Hermaios  by  the  effigy 
of  Augustus,  as  in  his  later  years,  and  so  to  do  homage  to 
the  expanding  fame  of  that  emperor,  who,  without  striking 
a  blow,  and  by  the  mere  terror  of  the  Roman  name, 
had  compelled  the  Parthians  to  restore  the  standards  of 
Crassus  (20  B.C.),  which  had  been  captured  thirty-three 
years  earlier.^ 

Still  later  probably  are  those  coins  of  Kadphises  I,  which 
dispense  altogether  with  the  royal  effigy,  and  present  on  the 
obverse  an  Indian  bull,  and  on  the  reverse  a  Bactrian  camel, 
devices  fitly  symbolizing  the  conquest  of  India  by  a  horde  of 
nomads.^ 
Meaning        Thus  the  numismatic   record   offers   a   distinctly  legible 
raatic         abstract  of  the  political  history  of  the  times,  and  tells  in 
record.       outline  the  story  of  the  gradual  supersession  of  the  last  out- 
posts of  Greek  authority  by  the  irresistible  advance  of  the 
hosts  from  the  steppes  of  Central  Asia. 

^  An  outline  of  the  approximate  ^  Plate  of  coins,  fig.  4,  ante. 

chronology  will   be   found   in    the  ^  In  the  twelfth  century  the  Bac- 

Sj'nchronistic  Table,  Appendix  L  at  trian  camel  with  two  humps   was 

the  end  of  this  chapter.     Only  the  still  bred  in  Upper  Sind  (Al-IdrisI, 

more  important  names  are  included  quoted  by  Raverty,  J.A.S,  B.,  vol. 

in  the  table.  Ixi,  part  i  (1892),  p.  224). 


GREECE  AND  INDIA  237 

When  the  European  historian,  with  his  niiiid  steeped  in  Contact 
the  conviction  of  the  immeasurahle  dei)t  owed  to  Hellas  hy  Greece 
modern  civilization,  stands  by  the  side  of  the  grave  of  Greek  and  India, 
rule  in  India,  it  is  inevitable  that  he  siiould  ask  what  was  the 
result  of  the  contact  between  Greece  and  India.     Was  Alex- 
ander to  Indian  eyes  nothing  more  than  the  cavalry  leader 
before  whose  onset  the  greatest  armies  were  scattered  like 
chaff,  or  was  he  recognized,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
as  the  pioneer  of  western  civilization  and  the  parent  of  model 
institutions?     Did  the  long-continued  government  of  Greek 
rulers   in   the   Panjab   vanish   before    the   assault    of    rude 
barbarians  without  leaving  a  trace  of  its  existence  save  coins, 
or  did  it  impress  an  Hellenic  stamp  upon  the  ancient  fal)ric 
of  Indian  polity  ? 

Questions  such  as  these  have  received  widely  divergent  Niese's 
answers ;  but  undoubtedly  the  general  tendency  of  European  ^P'"'°"^- 
scholars  has  been  to  exaggerate  the  hellenizing  effects  of 
Alexander's  invasion  and  of  the  Indo-Greek  rule  on  the 
north-western  frontier.  The  most  extreme  '  Hellenist '  view 
is  that  expressed  by  Herr  Niese,  who  is  convinced  that  all 
the  later  development  of  India  depends  indirectly  upon  the 
institutions  of  Alexander,  and  that  Chandragupta  Maurya 
recognized  the  suzerainty  of  Seleukos  Nikator.  Such  notions 
are  so  plainly  opposed  to  the  evidence  that  they  might  be 
supposed  to  need  no  refutation,  but  they  have  been  accepted 
to  a  certain  extent  by  English  writers  of  repute  ;  who  are,  as 
already  observed,  inclined  naturally  to  believe  that  India,  like 
Europe  and  a  large  part  of  Asia,  must  have  yielded  to  the 
subtle  action  of  Hellenic  ideas. 

It  is  therefore  worth  while  to  consider  impartially  and  Slight 

without  prejudice  the  extent  of  the  Hellenic  influence  upon  of  ^lex- 

India  from  the  invasion  of  Alexander  to  the  Kushan  or  Indo-  an^er  on 

PI      India. 
Scythian  conquest  at  the  end  ot  the  first  century  ot  the 

Christian  era,  a  period  of  four  centuries  in  round  numbers. 

The  author's  opinion  that  India  was  not  hellenized  by  the 

operations  of  Alexander  has  been  expressed  in  the  chapter 

of  this  work  dealing  with  his  retreat  from  India,^  but  it  is 

1  Ante,  p.  U'2. 


238  INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 

advisable  to  remind  the  reader  of  tlie  leading  facts  in  con- 
nexion with  the  more  general  (juestion  of  Hellenic  influence 
upon  Indian  civilization  during  four  hundred  years.  In 
order  to  form  a  correct  judgement  in  the  matter  it  is 
essential  to  bear  dates  in  mind.  Alexander  stayed  only 
nineteen  months  in  India,  and,  however  far-reaching  his  plans 
may  have  been,  it  is  manifestly  impossible  that  during  those 
few  months  of  incessant  conflict  he  should  have  founded 
Hellenic  institutions  on  a  permanent  basis,  or  materially 
affected  the  structure  of  Hindu  polity  and  society.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  did  nothing  of  the  sort,  and  within  two 
years  of  his  death,  witii  the  exception  of  some  small  garrisons 
under  Eiidemos  in  the  Indus  valley,  the  whole  apparatus  of 
Macedonian  rule  had  been  swept  away.  After  the  year 
316  B.  c.  not  a  trace  of  it  remained.  The  only  mark  of 
Alexander's  direct  influence  on  India  is  the  existence  of  a 
few  coins  modelled  in  imitation  of  Greek  types  which  were 
struck  by  Saubhiiti  (Sophytes),  the  chief  of  the  Salt  Range, 
whom  he  subdued  at  the  beginning  of  the  \oyage  down  the 
rivers. 
Failure  of  Twenty  years  after  Alexander's  death,  Seleiikos  Nikator 
Nikaton  Jittempted  to  recover  the  Macedonian  conquests  east  of  the 
Indus,  but  failed,  and  more  than  failed,  being  obliged,  not 
only  to  forgo  all  claims  on  the  provinces  temporarily 
occupied  by  Alexander,  but  to  surrender  a  large  part  of 
Ariana,  west  of  the  Indus,  to  Chandragupta  Maurya.  The 
Indian  administration  and  society  so  well  described  by 
Megasthenes,  the  ambassador  of  Seleukos,  were  Hindu  in 
character,  with  some  features  borrowed  from  Persia,  but 
none  from  Greece.^  The  assertion  that  the  development  of 
India  depended  in  any  w^ay  on  the  institutions  of  Alexander 
has  no  substantial  basis  of  fact. 
Maurya  For  eighty  or  ninety  years  after  the  death  of  Alexander 

the  strong  arm  of  the  Maurya  emperors  held  India  for  the 

^  The  duties  of  the  officers  main-  not  proved,  that  the  Indian  institu- 

tained  by  Chandragupta  to  'attend  tion  may  have  been  borrowed  fi-om 

to  the  entertainment  of  foreigners '  the  Greek  (^Newton,  7i.wrtj/.v  on  Art 

(Strabo.  xv,  1,  50-2)  were  identical  and  Archaeoloyy,^.  1-21;  Iwl.  Ant., 

with  those  of  the  Greek  i>roxenoi  lOOj,  p.  200). 
{Trp6^(voi),  and  it  is  possible,  though 


empire. 


LATER  GREEK  INVASIONS  239 

Indians  against  all  comers,  and  those  monarchs  treated  witli 
their  Hellenistic  neighbours  on  equal  terms.  Asoka  was  much 
more  anxious  to  communicate  the  blessings  of  Buddhist 
teaching  to  Antiochos  and  Ptolemy  than  to  borrow  Greek 
notions  from  them.  Although  it  certainly  appears  to  be 
true  that  Indian  plastic  and  pictorial  art  drew  part  of  its 
inspiration  from  Hellenistic  Alexandrian  models  during 
the  Maurya  period,  the  Greek  influence  merely  touched 
the  fringe  of  Hindu  civilization,  and  was  powerless  to 
modify  the  structure  of  Indian  institutions  in  any  essential 
respect. 

For  almost  a  hundred  years  after  the  failure  of  Seleukos  Invasion 
Nikator  no  Greek  sovereign  presumed  to  attack  India.    Then  °]^os"hg 
Antiochos  the  Great  (c.  206  b.c.)  marched  through  the  hills  Great, 
of  the  country  now  called  Afghanistan,  and  went  home  by 
Kandahar  and  Sistan,  levying  a  war  indemnity  of  treasure 
and  elephants  from  a  local  chief.^     This  brief  campaign  can 
have  had  no  appreciable  effect  on  the  institutions  of  India, 
and  its  occurrence  probably  ^as  unknown  to  many  of  the 
courts  east  of  the  Indus. 

The  subsequent  invasions  of   Demetrios,  Eukratides,  and  Subse- 
Menander,  which  extended  with  intervals  over  a  period  of  Greek 
about  half  a  century  (c.  190-154  b.  c),  penetrated  more  deeply  invasions. 
into  the  interior  of  the  country ;  but  they  too  were  transient 
raids,  and  cannot  possibly  have  affected  seriously  the  ancient 
and  deeply  rooted  civilization  of  India.     It  is  noticeable  that 
the  work  attributed  to  the  Hindu  astronomer  refers  to  Greeks 
as  the  '  viciously  valiant  Yavanas '.     The  Indians  were  im- 
pressed by  both  Alexander  and  Menander  as  mighty  captains, 
not  as  missionaries  of  culture,  and  no  doubt  regarded  both 
those  sovereigns  as  impure   barbarians,  to   be   feared,  not 
imitated. 

The  East  has  seldom  shown  much  readiness  to  learn  from 
the  West ;  and  when  Indians  have  condescended,  as  in  the 
cases  of  relief  sculpture  and  the  drama,  to  borrow  ideas  from 
European  teachers,  the  thing  borrowed  lias  been  so  cleverly 
disguised  in  native  trappings  that  the  originality  of  tlie 
1  Ante,  p.  229. 


MO 


INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 


Greek 
occupa- 
tion of 
Punjab. 


Absence 
of  Greek 
architec- 
ture. 


Indian  imitators  is  stoutly  maintained  even  by  acute  and 
learned  critics.^ 

The  Panjab,  or  a  considerable  part  of  it,  with  some  of  the 
adjoining  regions,  remained  more  or  less  under  Greek  rule 
for  more  than  two  centuries,  from  the  time  of  Demetrios 
(c.  190  B.C.)  to  the  overthrow  of  Hermaios  by  the  Kushans 
(c.  A.D.  20),  and  we  might  reasonably  expect  to  find  clear 
signs  of  hellenization  in  those  countries.  But  the  traces  of 
Hellenic  influence  even  there  are  surprisingly  slight  and 
trivial.  Except  tbe  coins,  which  retain  Greek  legends  on  the 
obverse,  and  are  throughout  mainly  Greek  in  type,  although 
they  begin  to  be  bilingual  from  the  time  of  Demetrios  and 
Eukratides,  scarcely  any  indication  of  the  prolonged  foreign 
rule  can  be  specified.  Tlie  coinage  undoubtedly  goes  far  to 
prove  that  the  Greek  language  was  used  to  some  extent  in  the 
courts  of  the  frontier  princes,  but  the  introduction  of  native 
legends  on  the  reverses  demonstrates  that  it  was  not  under- 
stood by  the  people  at  large.  No  inscriptions  in  that  tongue 
have  yet  been  discovered,  and  only  three  Greek  names  have 
yet  been  found  in  Indian  epigraphic  records.^ 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Greek  architecture  was  ever 
introduced  into  India.  A  temple  with  Ionic  pillars,  dating 
from  the  time  of  Azes  I,  c.  80  B.C.,  has  been  discovered  at 
Taxila ;  but  the  plan  of  the  building  is  not  Greek,  and  the 
pillars,  of  foreign  pattern,  are  merely  borrowed  ornaments.' 


^  The  author  is  still  firmly  con- 
vinced that  Weber  and  Windisch 
are  right  in  tracing  Greek  influence 
on  the  form  of  the  Sanskrit  liter- 
ary drama.  See  Weber,  llUf.  hid. 
Liter.  Triibner,  p.  217  ,  and  Win- 
disch, Der  yrierhische  Einfliiss  im 
indischen Drama,  Berlin,  1882.  The 
contrary  proposition  is  maintained 
by  M.  Sylvain  Levi  {Thidlre  Indien, 
pp.  313-66),  with  whom  most  scho- 
lars agree.  The  origin  of  Indian 
drama  is  quite  another  question. 
See  Keith  in  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  1910,  pp. 
53.5,  536. 

2  See  J.  Ind.  Art,  Jan.  1900, 
p.  89  ;  J.  R.  A.  S.,  1903,  p.  11,  for 
the  Theodore  inscription  in  the 
Swat    valley.      The    other    Greek 


names  are  Heliodoros  in  the  Bes- 
nagar  inscription  {J.R.A.S.,  1909, 
pp.  1053,  1()S7,  1093)  and  Agesi- 
laos  in  the  Kanishka  casket  record 
from  Peshawar   ibid.,  p.  1058). 

^  Cuimingham,  Arch.  Rep.  ii,  129; 
V,  69-72,  190,  PI.  XVII,  XVIII. 
The  '  large  copper  coins '  of  the 
foundation  deposit  must  be  those 
of  Azes  I  (V.  A.  Smith,  *  Graeco- 
Roman  Influence  on  the  Civilization 
of  Ancient  India",  /.  A.  S.  Jl,  1889, 
vol.  Iviii,  part  i,  pp.  115,  116).  Mr, 
Growse  found  a  fragment  of  sculp- 
ture in  the  Mathura  district,  '  where 
a  niche  is  supported  by  columns 
with  Ionic  capitals  '  {Mathura,  3rd 
ed.,  p.  171).  Cunningham  pub- 
lished a  plaster  fragment  of  a  Roman 


SUMMARY  241 

The  earliest  known  example  of  Iiido-Greek  sculpture  heloiigjs 
to  the  same  period,  the  reign  of  Azes,^  and  not  a  single  speci- 
men can  be  referred  to  the  times  of  Demetrios,  Eukratides, 
and  Menander,  not  to  speak  of  Alexander.  The  well-known 
sculptures  of  Gandhara,  the  region  round  Peshawar,  are  much 
later  in  date,  and  are  the  offspring  of  cosmopolitan  Gracco- 
Roman  art. 

The  conclusion  of  the  matter  is  that  the  invasions  of  Condu- 
Alexander,  Antiociios  the  Great,  Demetrios,  Eukratides,  and  ^'°"* 
Menander  were  in  fact,  whatever  their  authors  may  have  in- 
tended, merely  military  incursions,  which  left  no  appreciable 
mark  upon  the  institutions  of  India.  The  prolonged  occu- 
pation of  the  Panjab  and  neighbouring  regions  by  Greek 
rulers  had  extremely  little  effect  in  hellenizing  the  country. 
Greek  political  institutions  and  architecture  were  rejected, 
although  to  a  small  extent  Hellenic  example  was  accepted 
in  the  decorative  arts,  and  the  Greek  language  must  have 
been  more  or  less  familiar  to  the  officials  at  the  kings'  courts. 
The  literature  of  Greece  probably  was  known  slightly  to 
some  of  the  native  officers,  who  were  obliged  to  learn  their 
masters'  language  for  business  purposes,  but  that  language 
was  not  widely  diffused,  and  the  impression  made  by  Greek 
authors  upon  Indian  literature  and  science  is  hardly  traceable 
until  after  the  close  of  the  period  under  discussion.  The 
later  and  more  important  Graeco-Roman  influence  on  the 
civilization  of  India  will  be  noticed  briefly  in  the  next 
chapter,^ 

Ionic   capital   from   the   Ahinposh  to  have  been  intended  to  represent 

sfupaAt  Jalalabad  (Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  a  YavanI  doorkeeper. 

1879,  p.  309,  PI.  XI).  "  The  opinions  expressed  in  the 

^  The  statuette   in   the   pose   of  text  agree  generally  with  those  held 

Pallas  Athene  (./.  A.  S.  B.  ut  supra,  by  Mr.  Tarn,  *  Notes  on  Hellenism 

p.  1'21,  PI.  VII).    The  figure  seems  in  Bactria  and  India'  (J.  Hellenic 

Studien,  1902,  pp.  268-93). 


242 


INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 


APPENDIX    K 

Alpliabclicul  List  of  Badrian  and  Indo-Greck  Kings 
and  Queens  ^ 


5 
6 

7 

8 

f) 

10 
11 
12 
13 
11 

15 
16 

17 

18 

1!) 

20 

21 

22 
23 


Remarks. 


Agathokleia 
Agathokles 


Amyntas     . 
Antialkidas 


Antiraachos    I 

Antiraachos  II 

Apollodotos 

Apollophanes  . 

Archebios   .     . 

Artemidoros    . 
Demetrios 
Diodotos  I 
Diodotos  II 
Diomedes    .     . 

Dionysios    .     . 
Epander      .     . 

Eukratides .     . 

Euthydemos  I 

Euthydemos  II 
Heliokles    .     . 

Herraaios    .     . 

Hippostratos   . 
Kalliope      ,     . 


Theotropos     . 
Dikaios .     .     . 

Nikator .     .     . 
Nikephoros 

Theos     .     .     . 

Nikephoros     . 

Soter,  Megas, 

Philopator  - 

Soter      .     .     . 

Dikaios,  Nike- 
phoros 
Aniketos 
Aniketos 

Soter 
Soter 

Soter 
Nikephoros 

Megas    .     . 

Dikaios .  . 
Soter  .  . 
Soter,  Megas 


Probably  mother  of  Strato  I,  and 
regent  during  his  minority. 

Probably  succeeded  Pantaleon, 
No.  28,  and  was  contemporary 
with  Euthydemos  I  or  Demetrios. 

A  little  earlier  than  Hermaios. 

Contemporary  with  early  years  of 
Eukratides,  c.  170  ii.  c.  ;  appar- 
ently king  of  Taxila. 

Probably  succeeded  Diodotos  II, 
No.  13,  in  Kabul. 

Later  than  Eukratides,  No.  17,  or 
possibly  contemporary. 

Probably  son  of  Eidiratides,  and 
king  of  entire  Indian  frontier. 

Probably  contemporary  with  Strato 
I  or  li,  in  Eastern  Panjab. 

Probably  connected  with  Heliokles. 

Later  than  Menander. 

Son  of  Euthydemos  I,  No,  18. 

No  coins  known  ;  c.  250-245  b.  c. 

Son  of  No.  12. 

Apparently  connected  with  Eukra- 
tides, No.  17. 

Later  than  Apollodotos. 

Probably  later  than  Eukratides, 
No.   17. 

Contemporary  with  Mithradates  I  ; 
r.  175-156  B.C. 

Subsequent  to  Diodotos  II,  No.  13 ; 
c.  230-200  B.  c. 

Probably  son  of  No.  1 1 . 

Son  of  No.  17  ;  last  of  Bactrian 
dynasty. 

Last  Indo-Greek  king  of  Kabul ; 

C.   10  B.  C.-A.D.  20. 

Probably  succeeded  Apollodotos. 
Queen  of  Hermaios. 


^  Based  on  Von  SaUet's  lists,  and 
brought  up  to  date.  The  geogra- 
phical and  chronological  position  of 
many  of  the  rulers  named  is  so 
uncertain  that  an  alphabetical  list 
is  the  best. 


^  Cunningham  (Num.  Chron., 
1 870,  p.  81 ).  Gardner  (7i.  31.  Catnl. , 
p.  31)  distinguishes  A.  Soter  from 
A.  Philopator,  and  Prof.  Rapson  is 
disposed  to  accept  this  view. 


1o 

Name. 

Greek  title  or 
epithet. 

Remarks. 

34 

Laodike      .     . 

Motlier  of  Eukratidcs.' 

25 

Lysias    .     .     . 
Menander  .     . 

Aniketos    .     . 

Predeeessor  of  Antialkidas,  No.  i. 

.  26 

Soter,  Dikaios 

Later  than   Eukratidcs ;    invaded 

India  about  155  n.c,  but  Gard- 

ner places  him  about  110  n.c. 

27 

Nikias    .     .     . 

Soter     .     .     . 

Later  than  Eukratidcs.  His  coins 
are  found  only  in  the  Jhelum 
(Jihlam)  District  {Fanjuh  (/«:., 
s.v.  Jhelum). 

28 

Pantaleon   .     . 

Contemporary  with  Euthydemos  I 
or  Demetrios;  probably  preceded 
Agathokles,  No.  2;  r.  1!)()  n.c. 

29 

Peukelaos  .     . 

Dikaios,  Soter 

Contemporary  with  Hippostratos 
(/.  A.  S.  B.,\WM,  part  i,  p.  131), 

:?() 

Philoxenos . 

Aniketos    .     . 

Probably  succeeded  Antimachos 
II,  No.  6. 

31 

Plato.     .     .     . 

Epiphanes  .     . 

165k.  c, contemporary  with  Eukra- 
tidcs, No.  17;  perhaps  king  of 
Slstan.^ 

32 

(?)  Polyxenos  . 

Epiphanes, 

IVum.  Chron.,  1896,  p.  269;   Prof. 

Soter 

Rapson  doubts  the  genuineness 
of  the  unique  coin  described. 

-  33 

Strato  I  .     .     . 

Soter,  Epipha- 

Contemporary    with     Heliokles ; 

nes,  Dikaios 

reigned  long. 

3i- 

Strato  II     .     . 

Soter     .     .     . 

Grandson  of  No.  33. 

35 

Telephos     .     . 

Euergetes  .     .. 

J.  A.  S.  B.,  1898,  part  i,  p.  130. 

36 

Theophilos .     . 

Dikaios .     .     . 

/.  A.  S.  B.,  1897,  part  i,  p.  1  ;  con- 
nected with  Lysias. 

37 

Zoilos     .     .     . 

Soter,  Dikaios 

Apparently  later  than  Apollodotos, 
and  nearly  contemporary  with 
Dionysios;  probably  in  Eastern 
Panjab. 

»  Gardner  (B.  M.  Catal.,  p.  19). 
Heliokles  seems  to  have  been  the 
name  of  the  father,  as  well  as  of 
the  son,  of  Eukratides. 

2  The  letters  on  Plato's  coin  are 


interpreted  as  signifying  the  year 
14'7  of  the  Seleukidan  era,  equiva- 
lent to  165  B.  c.  Sykes,  Ten  Thoti- 
sand  Miles  in  Persia,  p.  363. 


r2 


1 

P 

M 

Death  of  Asoka. 

Recognition   of  Bac. 
trian  independence. 

Iiivjisionof  Kabul  by 
Antiochos  the  Great. 

Indian  conquests  of 
Denietrio.-, 

Inva.sion  of  India  by 
Menander. 

Saka     invasiion      of 
Hactria,  itc. 

St.  Thomas. 

■5 
1 

^                                   1                      .    --^    .                                       iS                   . 

Ill                   i 

s                              -5  g                     c                                     ; 

"5 

X 

t2 

c 
'I 

5 

c 
.S 

2 

-Maurja  dynasty       ..... 

)enietrios           Antiniachos           Pantaleon 
hithyd'nio.s  IT                              Agatliokles 

.....      Ulenander  (K   bill) 
Lpollodotos 

Variou.s  Greek 

princes 

trato  I                Maue.s  ace. 
1                       (W.  Panjab) 
trato  II 

.        .  Vonons      Various  Greek 
ace.               princes 
Azes  I  ace. 

.Satraps  of  Taxi  la  and  Mathura 

Hermaios  ace. 

Hermaios  overthrown 

by  ICushiiiis. 

.        ,  Gondophar.B  ace. 

.     Death  of  Gondopliar's 

1  ■     ■  ■     ■ ■    s= 

s         1 ll 

i          1 |S§          .     . 

2 

1 

"ill                 1  ^ij      :^t 

.2             .2      -                                        -^     leai             "§■?"■ 

-  *       Q  "K a  'a,    IS  •      -i' 

0P5 

..  -J  >•...<  .      .  .          .  -J 

3'=               £                               2 

ii..i^...^.  ..    .i 

5».   ,■-»..._                               c                                                                                 .... 

-i?       5§         =                   :5     ■  ■  ■     •                              •               ■     •     ■ 

CO    .   .go    .    .    .^    .        .    . .        

S  3    •   .  _2  ■*5    •    •    •  ♦^    •        •    •            '5 

£ 

5  *' .?  2  '5      '.i  £J  S «  SE      'o  w          CI--*  '.-r  "T  •.-:      'i  ••^      =c  —      -ii  -^      o          •-■;      o  »^  c  c  '^!      ^      c 

245 
APPENDIX    M 

The  Christunis  of  ^1.  'I'liomas 

111  this  Appendix  I  confine  myself  to  tlie  limited  task  of  jiisti-  Books 
fyino-  the  propositions  in  the  text^  which  difier  from  those  stated  '"'ted. 
in  the  second  edition.  It  is  out  of  the  question  to  discuss  fully 
the  problems  connected  with  the  legend  of  St.  Thomas  and 
the  origin  of  the  ancient  congregations  of  the  '  Clnnstians  of 
St.  Thomas '  in  Southern  India.  The  following  books  are  cited 
under  the  names  of  their  respective  authors  : — 

(1)  Mackenzie,  G.  T. — '  History  of  Christianity  in  Travancore/ 
3rd  ed.,  in  The  Travancore  Stale  Manual,  1906,  vol.  ii,  ))p.  1  11— 
219. 

(2)  Rae,  G.  Mu.ne. — 'T/ic  Syrian  C/utrc/i  in  Imlia.  (Blackwood, 
1892.) 

(3)  Medlycott,  Bishop  A.  E. — India  and  the  Apostle  Thomas. 
(Nutt,  1905.) 

(i)  Richards,  W.  J. —  The  Indian  Christians  of  St.  Thomas, 
(Bemrose,  1908). 

The  seven  churches  founded  by  St.  Thomas  are  enumerated  The 
by    Richards    (p.    77)  as  (l)   Kotta-kavalil,  (i2)  (Jokamangalam.  Seven 
(3)  Niranam,  (4)  Chayil,  (;-,)   Kurakeni,  (6)  Quilon,    (7)    Palur.  '^'^''^'^'hes. 
Mackenzie  gives  the  same  list,  with  some  variation  of  spelling, 
except  that  he  substitutes  Maliankai'a  for  Kurakeni.    Rae(p.  36l) 
gives  the  list  as  (1)  Cranganore,  (2)  Quilon,  (3)  Palur,  (4)  Parur, 
(5)  South  Pallijiuram  or  Kokamungalum,  (5)  Neranum,  (7)  Nell- 
akkul,  called  also  Chacl  or  Shall.     Richards  is  responsible  for  the 
statement  that 

'  One  of  the  seven  churches  founded  by  St.  Thomas  was  at  a  place 
named  Chayal  in  the  eastern  hills  of  Travancore.  It  has  long  been 
abandoned,  owing  to  wild  animals,  but  the  ruins  remain,  and  would 
repay  antiquarian  research'  (p.  91 .. 

I  cannot  explain  the  discrepancies  in  the  lists,  or  say  anything 
more  about  the  alleged  ruins  at  Chayal  {(tlias  Nellakkul,  Chael, 
or  Shail). 

St.  Thomas    is    believed  to  have  ordained  priests   from    two  Facts 
families  :  namely,  one  at  Shankarapuri,  which  died  out,  and  the  support- 
other  at  Pakalonmattam,    which   survived    into  the  nineteenth  {"adit ion. 
century,  and  supplied  archdeacons  in  the  Portuguese  and  bishops 
in  the  Dutch  period  (Mackenzie,  p.  137  ;   Richards,  p.  7(i). 

'  There  is  no  doubt ',  Mr.  V.  Nagam  Aiya  observes,  '  as  to  the 
tradition  that  St.  Thomas  came  to  Malabar  and  converted  a  few  families 
of  Nambudiris,  some  of  whom  were  ordained  by  him  as  priests,  such  as 
those  of  Sankarapuri  and  Pakalomattam.'     For  in  consonance  with  this 

'  Richards  spells  '  Pakalonmat-       (ibid.,  p.  137)  writes 'Palomattam'. 
tarn '.  Aiya  {Manual,  II,  V22)  writes       Probably  the  first  form  is  correct, 
'  Pakalomattam ',  while  Mackenzie 


246  INDO-GREEK  DYNASTIES 

long-standing  traditional  belief  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  Apostle's 
mission  and  lal)ours  among  high-caste  Hindus,  we  have  [it]  before  us 
to-day  the  fact  that  certain  Syrian  Christian  women,  particularly  of 
a  Dcsom  called  Kunnamkolam,  wear  clothes  as  Nambudiri  women  do, 
move  about  screening  themselves  with  huge  umbrellas  from  the  gaze 
of  profane  eyes  as  those  women  do,  and  will  not  marry,  except  per- 
haps in  exceptional  cases  and  that  only  recently,  but  from  among 
dignified  families  of  similar  aristocratic  descent.  This  is  a  valuable  piece 
of  evidence  of  the  conduct  of  the  commimity,  corroborating  the  early 
tradition  extant  on  the  coast.'     {Manual,  II,  1'22.) 

The  Mr.  Aija  goes  on  to  notice  the  Malabar  version  of  the  Abbanes 

martyr-       story  of  the  Acta,  wliich  is  given  more  fully  from  a  Malayalam 
doms.  manuscript  by  Richards  (p.  72). 

The  martyrdom  of  St.  Thomas  at  any  place  may  be  doubted, 
because  an  early  writer  named  Heracleon,  cited  by  Clement  of 
Alexandria  [c.  a.d.  200),  states  that  Thomas  was  not  mai-tyred 
(Medlycott,  p.  120).  The  Roman  Catholic  writers,  of  course, 
impugn  the  statement  of  Heracleon,  but  anybody  is  at  liberty  to 
believe  it  if  he  choses  to  do  so. 
Christian-  The  earliest  testimony  to  tlie  existence  of  a  Christian  Church 
ity  in  in  Socotra,  dei'ived  from  Persia,  is  that  of  Cosmas  Indicopleustes, 

Socotra.  ^^.j^^  wrote  in  a.d,  535.  About  a  thousand  years  later  (1542), 
St.  Francis  Xavier  found  nominally  Christian  congregations  in 
the  island,  who  claimed  descent  from  the  converts  made  by 
St.  Thomas.  The  belief  that  Theophilus,  the  missionary  sent 
out  by  Constantine  about  a.d.  ,354,  visited  Socotra  appears  to  be 
erroneous  (Medlycott,  pp.  1.36,  1.38,  196-201).^  Bishop  Medly- 
cott is,  I  think,  right  in  holding  that  Theophilus  visited  Malabar 
and  found  Christians  in  that  region. 
A  Ceylon-  Historical  traditions  of  India  and  Ceylon  when  read  together 
ese  tra-  seem  to  carry  the  evidence  for  the  existence  of  the  Church  in 
Malabar  back  to  the  third  century.  We  learn  from  the  Cey- 
lonese  chronicle,  the  Mahdvamsa  (ch.  xxxvi),  composed  about  the 
l)eginning  of  the  sixth  century,  that  in  the  reign  of  king  Gotha- 
kabhaya  or  Meghavarnabhaj'a,  whom  Geiger  places  in  a.d.  '502 
-15,  a  learned  Tamil  heretic  overcame  an  orthodox  Buddhist 
theologian  in  controversy  and  gained  the  favour  of  the  king,  wlio 
placed  his  son  under  his  tuition.  I'lie  Mahavamsa  represents  the 
victor  in  the  disputation  as  being  a  monk  named  Sanghamitra, 
'  versed  in  the  teachings  concerning  the  exorcism  of  spirits  and 
so  forth',  Mr.  K.  G.  Seshar  Aiyar  interprets  this  statement  as 
meaning  really  that  the  successful  controversialist  was  a  Hindu, 
and  identifies  him  with  the  famous  Saiva  saint  Manikka  (or  Mani) 
Va^agar.'-'     The  Tamil  lives  of  that  })ersonage   affirm  that  the 

'  The   statement   at   the   top  of  '^  Tamil i(inAnli<pi(iri/,  vol.  i,  no.  4-, 

p.  ];}()  (Medlycott)  that  the  story  of  p.  .Vk  The  writer  does  not  cite  the 
the  mission  of  Tiieophilus  refers  to  statement  in  the  MahCintiniit  cor- 
Socotra  is  a  slip,  contradicted  on  rcctiy.  The  Tamil  legend  is  given 
pp.  19(j,  2()I,  and  with  good  reason,       ibid.,  p.  <>(>,  and  in  Pope,  Tintrdsa- 

ffiim,  p.  xxxi. 


MANIKKA  VASAGAR  247 

saint  actually  converted  the  king  of  Ceylon  towards  the  end  of 
his  career.  That  kino-  may  be  identified  witii  Gothakabhaya, 
and  it  is  possible  tliat  the  autlior  of  the  Maliavamm  may  have 
niisre]>resentcd  the  8aiva  Hindu  ManikkaVaSagar  as  Sanghaniitra, 
a  Buddhist  heretic. 

However  little  credit  we  may  be  disposed  to  give  to  the  story  Manikka 
about  the  conversion  of  tlie  king  of  Ceylon,  or  to  the  identifica-  Y'^t^^^^ 
tion  of  that  king  with  Cothakabhaya  of  the  Mahdvaiimi,  I  see  no  . 
reason  for  hesitating  to  believe  the  Indian  tradition  that  Ma- 
nikka V^asagar  visited  Malabar  and  reconverted  two  families  of 
Christians  to  Hinduism.  The  descendants  of  those  families,  who 
are  still  known  as  Manigramakars,  are  not  admitted  to  full 
privileges  as  caste  Hindus.  Some  traditions  place  the  reconver- 
sion as  having  occurred  about  a.  d.  270.  If  that  date  be  at  all 
nearly  correct,  the  Malabar  Chiu'ch  must  be  considei'ably  older. 
So  far  as  I  can  appreciate  the  v'alue  of  the  arguments  from  the 
history  of  Tamil  literature,  there  seems  to  be  good  independent 
reasons  for  believing  that  Manikka  V^i^agar  may  have  lived  in  the 
third  century.  Some  authors  even  j)lace  him  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  century.^  If  he  really  lived  so  early,  his  rela- 
tion with  the  Church  in  Malabar  would  confirm  the  belief  in  its 
apostolic  origin. 

1  T.  Ponnambalara  Pillai,  quot-  to  do  with  Manicheans  is  untenable, 

ing  various  authorities,  in  Tamilian  The  late  Dr.  Pope,  shortly  before 

AntiqiMry,  vol.  i,  no.  4,  pp.  73-9  ;  his  death,  expressed  his  acceptance 

see    also    ibid.,     pp.     53-5;     and  of  the  opinion  that  Manikka  lived 

Mackenzie,    p.    138.     The    notion  iiot  later  than  the  fourth  century 

that  the  tradition  about  the  origin  (2am.  Ant.,  ut  gupra,  p.  54). 
of  the  Manigramakars  has  anything 


CHAPTER   X 

THE   KUSHAN   OR   INDO-SCYTHIAN   DYNASTY 
FROM    ABOUT   a.d.  20   to    a.d.  225 

Yueh-chi        The  migrations  of  the  nomad  nations  of  the  Central  Asian 
migration.  ^    '   a  •       i    •        i       i  ^^  ^ 

steppes,  briefly  noticed  in  the  last  preceding  chapter,  pro- 
duced on  the  political  fortunes  of  India  effects  so  momentous 
that  they  deserve  and  demand  fuller  treatment. 

A  trihe  of  Turki  nomads,  known  to  Chinese  authors  as 
the  Hiung-nii,  succeeded  in  inflicting  upon  a  neighbouring 
and  rival  horde  of  the  same  stock  a  decisive  defeat  before  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  B.C.  The  date  of  this  event  is 
stated  as  165  b.  c.  by  most  scholars,  M'hile  Dr.  Franke  gives 
the  limiting  dates  as  174  and  160  b.  c.  The  Y^ueh-chi  were 
compelled  to  quit  the  lands  which  they  occupied  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Kan-suh  in  North-western  China,  and  to  migrate 
westwards  in  search  of  fresh  pasture-grounds.  The  moving 
horde  mustered  a  force  of  bowmen,  estimated  to  number  from 
one  hundred  to  two  hundred  thousand ;  and  the  whole  mul- 
titude must  have  comprised,  at  least,  from  half  a  million  to 
a  million  persons  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes.^ 

Defeat  of        jj^  ^j^g  course  of  their  westward   migration   in   search  of 

the  Wu-  ,  ° 

sun.  grazing-grounds  adequate  for  the  sustenance  of  their  vast 

numbers  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep,  the  Yueh-chi,  moving 

along  the  route  past  Kucha  (N.  hit.  41°  38',  E.  long.  83°  25'), 

to  the  north  of  the  desert  of  Taklamakan,  the  Gobi  of  old 

maps,  came  into  conflict  with  a  smaller  horde,  named  Wu- 

sun,  which  occupied  the  basin  of  the  Hi  river  and  its  southern 

tributaries,  the  Tekes  and  Konges.^     The  Wu-sun,  although 

^  The  Yueh-chi  were  not  snub-  The  coins    of  Kanishka  and  Hu- 

nosed  Mongols,  but  big  men  with  vishka,  as   well  as  those  of  Kad- 

piiik  complexions  and  large  noses,  phises     II,     present     recognizable 

resemblingthe  Hiung-nu  in  manners  portraits.  See  Plates  of  Coins,  anle. 
andcustoms(Kingsraill, ./.  ii'.^.,S'.,  ^  Chavannes,  Turrs  Occidentaux, 

1882,  p.  7,  of  repr'mt  of  Intercourse  p.  263. 
of  China  with  Eastern  Turkestan). 


SAKA  MIGRATION  249 

« 
numbering  a  force  of  only  ten  thousand  bowmen^  could  not 

submit  patiently  to  the  devastation  of  their  lands,  and  sought 
to  defend  them.  But  the  superior  numbers  of  the  Yueh-chi 
assured  the  success  of  the  invaders,  who  slew  the  VVu-sun  chief- 
tain, and  then  passed  on  westwards,  beyond  Lake  Issyk-kul, 
the  Lake  Tsing  of  Hiuen  Tsang,  in  search  of  more  spacious 
pastures.  A  small  section  of  the  immigrants,  diverging  to  the 
south,  settled  on  the  Tibetan  border,  and  became  known  as 
the  Little  Yueh-chi;  while  the  main  body,  which  continued 
the  westward  march,  was  designated  the  Great  Yueh-chi. 

The  next  foes  encountered  by  the  Yueh-chi  were  the  Defeat  of 
Sakas,  or  Se,  who  doubtless  included  more  than  one  horde ;  the  ^akas. 
for,  as  Herodotus  observes,  the  Persians  were  accustomed  to 
use  the  term  Sakai  to  denote  all  Scythian  nomads.  The 
Sakas,  who  dwelt  to  the  west  of  the  Wu-sim,  and  to  the 
north  of  the  Jaxartes  (Syr  Darya)  also  attempted  to  defend 
their  lands;  but  met  M'ith  even  worse  success  than  the 
Wu-sun,  being  compelled  to  vacate  their  pasture-grounds  in 
favour  of  the  victorious  Yueh-chi,  who  occupied  them.  The 
Sakas  were  forced  to  migrate  in  search  of  new  quarters,  and, 
ultimately,  as  stated  in  the  last  preceding  chapter,  made 
their  way  into  India  through  the  northern  passes.^ 

For  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years  the  Yueh-chi  renuiined  c  no  h.c 
undisturbed  in  their  usurped  territory.     But  meantime  their  ^^^^^^ 
ancient  enemies,  the  Hiung-nu,  had  protected  the  infant  son  Yueh-clii. 

^  In  the  time  of  Darius,  son  of  Darius  {Herod,  transl.,  vol.  ii,  408; 
Hystaspes  (500  b.  c).  the  Sakai,  v,  170)  is  no  longer  tenable.  The 
with  the  Caspii,  formed  the  fifteenth  Saka  migration  is  discussed  fully 
satrapy;  and,  in  the  army  of  Xerxes,  in  my  paper,  'The  Sakas  in 
they  were  associated  with  the  Northern  India,' Z.  i*.  J/.  G.,  1907, 
Bactrians  under  the  command  of  pp.  403-21  ;  and  by  Dr.  F.  W. 
Hystaspes,  the  son  of  Darius  and  Thomas  in  his  valuable  article  '  Sa- 
Atossa  {Herod,  iii,  93;  vii,  64).  kastana' (J.  7?.  .J.  .S?.,  1906,  pp.  Irtl- 
Nowthatthepositionof  theWu-sun  216,  460-4).  He  shows  reasons  for 
has  been  determined,  and  the  hne  believing  that  Sakas  had  been  set- 
of  the  Yueh-chi  migration  thus  tied  in  Sistan  from  very  early  times, 
fixed,  the  approximate  location  of  and,  for  holding  that  an  irruption 
the  Sakai  must  be  as  stated  in  the  of  Sakas  into  that  country  in  the 
text.  Strabo  clearly  states  that  the  .  second  century  h.  c.  is  improbable. 
Sakai  and  allied  tribes  came  from  In  my  second  edition  I  had  as- 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Jaxartes.  suraed  the  reality  of  such  an  irruj)- 
Canon  Rawlinson's  opinion  that  tion,  but  now  am  disposed  to  agree 
they  occupied  the  Kashgar  and  with  Dr.  Thomas. 
Yarkand  territory  in  the  days  of 


250 


THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 


The  Yueh 
c'hi  settle 
down. 


10  B.C. 

Unifica- 
tion of 
Yueh-chi 
kingdom. 


A.n.  1^ 


of  the  shiiii  Wu-sun  chieftain,  mIio  liad  grown  to  manhood 
under  their  care.  This  youth,  Avith  Hiung-nu  lielp,  attacked 
the  Yueh-chi,  and  avenged  his  father's  deatii  hy  driving 
them  from  the  hinds  which  they  had  wrested  from  the 
Sakas.  Being  thus  forced  to  resume  their  march,  tlie 
Yueh-chi  moved  into  the  valley  of  the  Oxus,  and  reduced 
to  subjection  its  peaceful  inhabitants,  known  to  the  Chinese 
as  Ta-hia.  The  political  domination  of  the  Yueh-chi  pro- 
bably was  extended  at  once  over  Bactria,  to  the  south  of  the 
Oxus,  but  the  head-quarters  of  the  horde  continued  for  many 
years  to  be  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  the  pastures 
on  that  side  sufficed  for  the  wants  of  the  new-comers. 

In  the  course  of  time,  which  may  be  estimated  at  one  or 
two  generations,  the  Yueh-chi  lost  their  nomad  habits; 
and  became  a  settled,  territorial  nation,  in  actual  occupation 
of  the  Bactrian  lands  south  of  the  river,  as  well  as  of 
Sogdiana  to  the  north,  and  were  divided  into  five  princi- 
palities. As  a  rough  approximation  to  the  truth,  this 
political  and  social  development,  with  its  accompanying 
growth  of  population,  may  be  assumed  to  have  been  com- 
pleted about  10  B.  c. 

For  the  next  century  nothing  is  known  about  Yueh-chi 
history;  but  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  division 
of  the  nation  into  five  territorial  principalities,  situated  to  the 
north  of  the  Hindu  Kush,  the  chief  of  the  Kushan  section  of 
tiie  horde,  who  is  conventionally  known  to  European  writers 
as  Kadphises  I,  succeeded  in  imposing  his  authority  on  his 
colleagues,  and  establishing  himself  as  sole  monarch  of  the 
Yueh-chi  nation.  His  accession  as  such  may  be  dated 
approximately  in  the  year  a.d.  15,  which  cannot  be  far 
wrong.^ 


'  Many  books  antedate  the  uni- 
fication of  the  Kushan  nionarcliy 
in  consequence  of  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  a  condensed  version  of  the 
history  given  in  Ma-twan-lin's 
Chinese  encyclopaedia  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  The  publica- 
tion of  translations  of  the  original 
texts  which  the  encyclopaedist 
abstracted    has     made    the    true 


meaning  plain,  although  exact 
dates  arc  not  known.  Even  if 
it  should  hereafter  be  proved  that 
the  inscriptions  of  Kanishka  and 
his  successors  are  dated  in  a  special 
era,  the  soundness  of  the  chrono- 
logical scheme  adopted  in  this 
chapter  would  not  be  seriously 
affected.  The  king  called  Kad- 
phises I  in  the  text  is  the  Kieu- 


KADPHISES  I 


261 


Tlic  pressure  of  population  upon  tlie  means  of  subsistence,  Tlie  Yueh- 
which  had  impelled  the  Yueh-chi  horde  to  undertake  the  ^1," 'j^^^'^- 
long  and  arduous  march  from  the  borders  of  China  to  the  Kush. 
Hindu  Kush,  now  drove  it  across  that  barrier,  and  stimulated 
Kadphises  I  to  engage  in  the  formidable  task  of  subjugating 
the  provinces  to  the  south  of  the  mountains. 

He  made  himself  master  of  Ki-pin  (?  Kashmir,  ?  Kafiristan)  Empire  of 
as  well  as  of  the  Kabul  territory,^  and,  in  the  course  of  a  long  poises  I. 
reign,  consolidated  his  power  in  Bactria,  and  found  time  to 
attack  the  Parthians.  His  empire  thus  extended  from  the 
frontiers  of  Persia  to  the  Indus,  or  perhaps  to  the  Jihlam, 
and  included  Sogdiana,  now  the  Khanate  of  Bukhara,  with 
probably  all  the  territories  comprised  in  the  existing  kingdom 
of  Afghanistan.  The  complete  subj ugation  of  the  hardy  moun- 
taineers of  the  Afghan  highlands,  who  have  withstood  so 
many  invaders  with  success,  must  have  occupied  many  years. 


tsieu-k'io  of  the  Chinese,  and  the 
Kozolakadaphes,Kozoulokadphises, 
and  Kujulakarakadphises  of  various 
coins.  The  exact  meaning  of  these 
names  or  titles  is  unknown.  Full 
references  will  be  found  in  ray- 
paper  entitled  '  The  Kushan  or 
Indo-Scythian  Period  of  Indian 
History'  {J.R.A.S.,  1903,  pp.  1- 
64).  I  have  given  up  the  theory 
advocated  in  that  essay  that  the 
Kushans  used  the  Laukika  era. 
The  name  of  the  clan  is  spelled 
Kushana  in  the  Kharoshthl  script, 
which  does  not  mark  long  vowels, 
but  there  is  good  Chinese  and  Sas- 
sanian  evidence  that  the  second 
vowel  was  long,  e.  g.  the  words 
rabbet  Kushan  on  coins  of  Hormazd 
II  (a.  d.  302-9).  See  Drouin,  '  Les 
LegendesdesMonnaiesSassanides,' 
in  Revue  Archroloi/iqiie,  1898,  pp. 
(>3  foil,  I  therefore  follow  Cunning- 
ham and  Drouin  in  using  the  form 
'  Kushan '  instead  of  the  more 
fashionable  '  Kushana '.  As  regards 
dates,  I  have  adopted  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji. 

^  The  Chinese  texts, as  M.  Sylvain 
L^vi  has  proved  conclusivly,  dis- 
tinguish Ki-pin  from  Kao-fil,  or 
Kabul.  The  signification  of  Ki-pin 
or    Ka-pin    has    varied.      In    the 


seventh  century,  in  the  time  of 
the  Tang  dynasty,  it  generally, 
although  not  invariably,  meant 
Kapisa,  or  North-eastern  Afghan- 
istan. In  the  time  of  the  Han  and 
Wei  dynasties  the  term  ordinarily 
meant  Kashmir.  The  period  re- 
ferred to  in  the  text  being  that  of 
the  beginning  (a.d.  23)  of  the  later 
Han  dynasty,  Ki-pin  perhaps  should 
be  interpreted  as  meaning  Kashmir 
(Sylvain  Levi,  in  /.  A.,  tome  vii, 
ser.  ix,  p.  161 ;  tome  x,  pp.  526-31  ; 
Chavannes,  Turcs  Orcidentaur,  pp. 
52,  276,  and  Addenda,  p.  307,  at 
top;  Vuyaye  de  Hunfj  Yun,  p.  5i). 
But  the  Kapisa  signification  would 
suit  better.  See  the  learned  observa- 
tions of  Watters  (On  Yunn-cJncavt/, 
i,  259),  who  points  out  that  'in 
many  Chinese  treatises  Ka-pin  is 
a  geographical  term  of  vague  and 
varying  extension,  and  not  the 
description  of  a  particular  country. 
It  is  applied  in  different  works  to 
Kapis,  iNagar,  Gandhara,  Udyana, 
and  Kashmir.'  Sir  M.  A.  Stein  spells 
Ki-pin  as  Chi-pin.  All  Chinese 
names  are  spelt  in  a  great  variety 
of  ways  by  different  authors.  Dates, 
also,  are  given  with  a  certain 
amount  of  variation. 


252  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

;iii(l  cannot  be  assigned  to  any  particular  year,  but  a.d.  20 
uuiy  be  taken  as  a  mean   date  for  the  conquest  of  Kabul. 
Extinction      The  Yueh-chi  adv^ance  necessarily  involved  the  suppression 
Greek  and  of  the  Indo-Greek  and  Indo-Parthian  chiefs  of  principalities 
["'^th-       ^"  ^'^^  ^^^^^  °^  ^^^^  Indus ;  and  in  the  last  preceding  ciiapter 
power.        proof  has  been  given  of  the  manner  in  which  the  coinage 
legibly  records  the  outline  of  the  story  of  the  gradual  super- 
session of  Hermaios,  the  last  Greek  prince  of  Kabul,  by  the 
barbarian  invaders. 

The  final  extinction  of  the   Indo-Parthian    power  in   the 
Panjab  and  the  Indus  valley  probably  was  reserved  for  the 
reign  of  Kanishka. 
e.  A.D.  io.       At  the  age  of  eighty  Kadphises  I  closed  his  victorious  reign, 
11^  and  was  succeeded^  in  or  about  a.  d.  45,  by  his  son,  who  is 

most  conveniently  designated  as  Kadphises  11.^  This  prince, 
no  less  ambitious  and  enterprising  than  his  father,  devoted 
himself  to  the  further  extension  of  the  Yueh-chi  dominion. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  he  conquered  the  Panjab 
and  a  considerable  part  of  the  Gangetic  plain,  probably  as 
far  as  Benares.  In  the  Indus  valley  Lower  Sind  would  seem 
to  have  continued  under  the  rule  of  Parthian  chiefs.  The 
conquered  Indian  provinces  were  administered  by  military 
viceroys,  to  M'hom  should  be  attributed  the  large  issues  of 
coins  known  to  numismatists  as  those  of  the  Nameless  King, 
which  are  extremely  common  all  over  Northern  India  from 
the  Kabul  Valley  to  Ghazipur  and  Benares  on  the  Ganges, 
as  well  as  in  Cutch  (Kachchh)  and  Kathiawar.^ 
Relations  The  embassy  of  Chang-kien  in  125—115  B.C.  to  the 
China         Yueh-chi,  ^hile  they  still  resided  in  Sogdiana  to  the  north 

'  Yen-kao-ching  of  the  Chinese ;  given    in    detail    by    Cunningham 

Wima  (Ooerao)  Kadphises,   &c.,  of  {^Num.   Chroii.,  1892,  p.   71).     His 

the  coins.  coins,   mostly    copper    or    bronze, 

*  No  inscriptions  of  Kadphises  II  include  a  few  in  base  silver.    Both 

being  known,  the  evidence  for  the  Kadphises    II   and    the   Nameless 

extent    of    his     Indian    dominions  King  use  the  title  sotir^tm/as ;  but 

rests  chiefly  on  the  distribution  of  while     the    former    calls     himself 

his     coins.     When     the     Per'qjlus  haiu/eus   hasUeon,    '  king  of  kings,' 

was  written,  about   a.d.    80,  Par-  the  latter  describes  himself  as /w.sv- 

thian  chiefs   still  ruled  the  Indus  leux    basUeuon,     'reigning     king.' 

delta.     The  proof  that  the  Name-  The   participle   probably  indicates 

less   King,  ^ojr-fip  nt-yas,  was   con-  subordinate  rank.    See  Calal,  Coins 

temporary    with    Kadphises   II    is  In  1.  M.,  \o\.\. 


RELATIONS  WITH  CHINA  253 

of  tlic  Oxus,  had  brought  the  western  barbarians  into  touch 
with  the  Middle  Kingdom,  and  for  a  century  and  a  (juarter 
the  emperors  of  China  kept  up  intercourse  with  the  Scythian 
powers.  In  the  year  a.  d.  8  official  relations  ceased,  and  when 
the  first  Han  dynasty  came  to  an  end  in  a.  d.  23,  Chinese 
influence  in  the  western  countries  had  been  reduced  to  nothing. 
Fifty  years  later  Chinese  ambition  reasserted  itself,  and  for 
a  period  of  thirty  years,  from  a.d.  73  to  102,  General  Pan-chao  a.d. 
led  an  army  from  victory  to  victory,  nearly  as  far  as  the 
confines  of  the  Roman  empire,^  and  thus  effected  the  greatest 
westward  extension  ever  attained  by  the  power  of  China. 
The  king  of  Khotan,  who  had  first  made  his  submission  in 
A.  D.  73,  was  followed  bj^  several  other  princes,  including  the 
king  of  Kashgar,  and  the  route  to  the  west  along  the 
southern  edge  of  the  desert  was  thus  opened  to  the  arms 
and  commerce  of  China.  The  reduction  of  Kucha  and 
Kara-shahr  in  a.  d.  94-  similarly  threw  open  the  northern  road. 

The  steady  advance  of  the  victorious  Chinese  evidently  c  a.  d.  »(). 
alarmed  the  Kushan  king,  presumably  Kanishka  the  sue-  chtna^' 
cessor  of  Kadphises  II,  who  regarded  himself  as  the  equal  of 
the  emperor,  and  had  no  intention  of  accepting  the  position  of 
a  vassal.  Accordingly,  in  a.  d.  90,  he  boldly  asserted  his  equal- 
ity by  demanding  a  Chinese  princess  in  marriage.  General 
Pan-chao,  who  considered  the  proposal  an  affront  to  his 
master,  arrested  the  envoy  and  sent  him  home.  Kanishka, 
unable  to  brook  this  treatment,  equipped  a  formidable  force  of 
70,000  cavalry  under  the  command  of  his  viceroy  Si,  A\'hich 
was  dispatched  across  the  Tsung-ling  range,  or  Taghdumbash 
Pamir,  to  attack  the  Chinese.  The  army  of  Si  probably  ad- 
vanced by  the  Tashkurghan  Pass,  some  fourteen  thousand  feet 
high,^  and  was  so  shattered  by  its  sufferings  during  the  pas- 

^  Prof.    Douglas   says   that   '  an  roraain '  {Notes  sur  Us  Indo-Scythes, 

array    under    General    Pan-c'bao  p.  50). 

marched  to  Khoten,  and  even  car-  -  For  an  account  of  Tashkurghan 

ried  their  country's  flag  to  the  shores  in  the  Sarlkol  tract  of  the  moun- 

of  the  Caspian  Sea '  ( China,  in  Story  tains,  see  Stein,  PreVtminary  Report 

of  Nations  Series,  p.  18),  M.Sylvain  of  Explorafionin  ChijieseTnrkesfan, 

Levi,  referring  to  Mailla,  Histoirn  pp.    11-13;   Sand-huried   Ruins  of 

(/hiirale   de   la   Chinf,   says — 'jus-  Khotan,  ch.  v;    Ancient   Khotan, 

qu'aux   confins   du   monde  greco-  p.  54,  note  17. 


254 


THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 


sage  oi'  ilio  mountains,  that  when  it  emerged  into  the  phiin 
below,  either  that  of  Kashgar  or  Yarkand,  it  fell  an  easy  prey 
to  Pan-chao,  and  was  totally  defeated.     Kanishka  was  com- 
pelled to  pay  tribute  to  China,  and  the  Chinese  annals  record 
the  arrival  of  several  missions  bearing  tribute  at  this  period.^ 
c.  A.D.  60.      In  thus  mentioning  the  operations  presumably  attributable 
of*>rvr^    to  Kanishka,  I  have  interrupted  the  story  of  Kadphises  II,  who 
India.        proceeded  apparently  to  complete  the  conquest  of   Upper 

India  began  by  his  predecessor. 
Roman  The  Yueh-chi  conquests  opened  up  the  overland  path  of 

influence,  commerce  between  the  Roman  empire  and  India.  Kadphises  I, 
who  struck  coins  in  bronze  or  copper  only,  imitated,  after  his 
conquest  of  Kabul,  the  coinage  either  of  Augustus  in  his 
latter  years,  or  the  similar  coinage  of  Tiberius  (a.  d.  14  to  38). 
When  the  Roman  gold  of  the  early  emperors  began  to  pour 
into  India  in  payment  for  the  silks,  spices,  gems,  and  dyestuffs 
of  the  East,  Kadphises  II  perceived  the  advantage  of  a  gold 
currency,  and  struck  an  abundant  issue  of  orientalized  aurei, 
agreeing  in  weight  with  their  prototypes,  and  not  much  inferior 
in  purity.  In  Southern  India,  Avhich,  during  the  same  period, 
maintained  an  active  maritime  trade  with  the  Roman  empire, 
the  local  kings  did  not  attempt  to  copy  the  imperial  aurei ; 
which  were  themselves  imported  in  large  quantities,  and  used 
for  currency  purposes,  just  as  English  sovereigns  now  are  in 
many  parts  of  the  world.^ 


1  *  In  the  time  of  the  Emperor 
Hwa  [  =  Hiao-houo-ti,  or  Ho-ti] 
(89-105)  they  [the  Indians]  often 
sent  messengers  to  China  and  pre- 
sented something,  as  if  it  were  their 
tribute.  But  afterwards  those  of 
the  western  regions  rebelled  (against 
the  emperor  of  China),  and  inter- 
rupted their  communication,  until 
the  second  year  of  the  period  Yen- 
hsi  (159)  in  the  reign  of  the  Empe- 
ror Kwan  [=  Hwan-ti]  (147-67)' 
{Annals  of  Later  Han  Dynasty,  as 
translated  by  Prof.  Legge  in  India, 
What  ran  it  Teach  us  <',  p.  277). 

2  For  weights  and  assays  of 
Kushan  coins,  see  Cunningham 
{Coins  Med.  India,  p.  16).  The 
opinions  expressed  by  Von  Sallet 


{Nachfolyer  Alexanders,  pp.  56,  81) 
that  the  close  resemblance  between 
the  heads  of  Kadphises  I  and 
Augustus  is  due  to  fortuitous  coin- 
cidence, and  that  there  is  no  reason 
to  connect  the  weight  of  the  Kushan 
coins  with  that  of  the  imperial 
aurei,  can  only  be  regarded  as 
strange  aberrations  of  that  distin- 
guished numismatist.  The  one 
silver  coin  of  Kadphises  II  which 
is  known  weighs  56j  grains,  and 
thus  agrees  in  weight,  as  Cunning- 
ham observed,  with  a  Roman  silver 
denarius.  For  an  account  of  large 
finds  of  Roman  coins  in  India,  see 
Thurston,  Coin  Catal.  No.  2  of 
Madras  Museum  ;  and,  more  fully, 
Sewell,    '  Roman   Coins    found    in 


KANISIIKA 


255 


The  victorious  reign  of  Kadphises   II   undoubtedly  was  Duration 
prolonged,  and  may  be  supposed  to  have  covered  a  space  of  Kfulnhhes 
about  thirty-three  years,  from  a.d.  55  to  78.^  II. 

Kadphises  II  was  succeeded  by  Kanishlca,  who  alone  among  '••  a, p.  78. 
the  Kushan  kings  has  left  a  name  cherished  by  tradition,  and  ^cc. 
famous  far  beyond  the  limits  of  India.  His  name,  it  is  true, 
is  unknown  in  Europe,  save  to  a  few  students  of  unfamiliar 
lore,  although  it  lives  in  the  legends  of  Tibet,  China,  and 
Mongolia,  and  is  scarcely  less  significant  to  the  Buddhists  of 
those  lands  than  that  of  Asoka  himself.  Notwithstanding  the 
widespread  fame  of  Kanishka,  his  a\ithentic  history  is  scanty, 
and  his  chronological  position  strangely  open  to  doubt. 
Unluckily  no  passage  in  the  works  of  the  accurate  Chinese 
historians  has  yet  been  discovered  which  synchronizes  him 
with  any  definite  name  or  event  in  the  well-ascertained  history 
of  the  Middle  Kingdom.     The  Chinese  books  which  mention 


India,'  J.  R.  A.  S.,  19()J.,  p.  591. 
The  testimony  of  Pliny  {Hist.  Naf. 
xii,  18)  to  the  drain  of  Roman  gold 
in  exchange  for  Indian,  Arabian, 
and  Chinese  luxuries  is  well 
known: — 'Minimaque  computa- 
tione  milies  centena  milia  sester- 
tiura  annis  omnibus  India  et  Seres 
peninsulaque  ilia  imperio  nostro 
adimimt.  Tanto  nobis  deliciae  et 
feminae  constant.  Quota  enim 
portio  ex  illis  ad  deos  quaeso  iam 
uti  ad  inferos  pertinet  ? ' 

1  No  definite  proof  of  the  length 
of  this  reign  can  be  given,  but  the 
extent  of  the  conquests  made  by 
Kadphises  II  and  the  large  volume 
of  his  coinage  are  certain  indica- 
tions that  his  reign  was  protracted. 
Cunningham  assigned  it  a  duration 
of  forty  years.  My  presentation  of 
the  history  of  Kanishka  is  largely 
based  on  the  original  and  valuable 
essay  by  Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji  of  the 
Indian  Museum,  entitled  'The 
Scythian  Period  of  Indian  History ' 
{Ind.  Ant.,  1908,  pp.  25-75).  His 
explanation  of  the  overlapping  of 
the  dates  of  Kanishka,  Vasishka, 
and  Huvishka  is  satisfactory  to  my 
judgement,  and  I  am  convinced 
that  the  Kanishka  of  the  year  +1 
mentioned  in  the  Ara  inscription 
is  the  same  person  as  the  Kanishka 


of  the  years  Sand  11  mentioned 
in  inscriptions  previously  known. 
Prof.  Liiders's  view  that  the 
Kanishka  of  the  Ara  record  may 
have  been  the  grandson  of  the 
Kanishka  of  the  years  3  and  11 
seems  to  me  to  be  ill-founded 
{Sitzungsher.  d.  kon.  preuss.  Akad. 
d.  WissenscJi.,  1912,  p.  827).  I  think 
that  Prof.  Liiders  is  right  in  reading 
Kdisarasa  ' Caesar',  as  a  title  of 
Kanishka  in  the  Ara  inscription, 
but  the  reading  is  not  sufficiently 
clear  to  justify  stress  being  laid 
upon  it.  The  name  of  Kanishka 
is  sometimes  spelled  Kanishka. 
While  I  do  not  affirm  as  a  fact  that 
the  ^aka  era  of  a.  d.  78  was 
established  by  Kanishka,  or  that 
it  coincides  with  the  date  of  his 
accession,  I  now  think  it  liighly 
probable  that  the  Saka  era  marks 
either  the  accession  or  the  corona- 
tion of  Kanishka.  The  relegation 
of  that  monarch  to  58  n.  c. ,  so 
strenuously  advocated  by  Dr.  Fleet, 
is  wholly  out  of  the  question  in 
my  judgement.  See  discussion  in 
./.  i?.  ^.  <S'.,  1913.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  Kadphises  kings  preceded 
Kanishka,  and  am  pleased  to  find 
that  the  new  evidence  from  Taxila 
confirms  ray  opinion. 


256  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

hiin  are  all,  so  far  as  is  yet  known,  merely  Buddhist  works  of 
edification,  and  not  well  adapted  to  serve  as  mines  of  historic 
fact.  They  are,  in  truth,  as  are  the  hooks  of  Tibet  and 
Mongolia,  translations  or  echoes  of  Indian  tradition,  and  no 
student  needs  to  he  told  how  baffling  are  its  vagaries. 
Kanishka  and  his  proximate  successors  certainly  are  mentioned 
in  an  exceptionally  large  number  of  inscriptions,  of  which 
considerably  more  than  a  score  are  dated ;  and  it  might  be 
expected  that  this  ample  store  of  epigraphic  material  would 
set  at  rest  all  doubts,  and  establish  beyond  dispute  the  essential 
outlines  of  the  Kushan  chronology.  But,  unfortunately,  the 
dates  are  recorded  in  such  a  fashion  as  to  be  open  to  various 
interpretations,  and  eminent  scholars  are  still  to  be  found  who 
place  the  accession  of  Kanishka  in  58  b.c.^ 
His  date.  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  numismatic  evidence 
alone — a  class  of  evidence  unduly  depreciated  by  some 
historical  students — proves  conclusively  that  Kanishka  lived 
at  a  time  considerably  later  than  the  Christian  era,  subsequent 
to  both  Kadphises  I  and  Kadphises  II,  and  was  exposed  to 
the  influence  of  the  Roman  empire.  Many  other  lines  of 
evidence,  of  great  force  when  brought  together,  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  Kanishka  came  to  the  throne  late  in  the 
first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  most  probably  in  a.  d.  78, 
directly  succeeding  Kadphises  II. 

Kanishka  unquestionably  belonged  to  the  Kushan  section 
of  the  Yueh-chi  nation,  as  did  the  Kadphises  kings,  and  there 
does  not  seem  to  be  sufficient  reason  for  believing  that  he  was 

^  Dr.  Fleet  maintains  the  .58  b.  c.  Survey,   has    been    convinced    by 

date,  and  the  Messrs.  Bhandarkar  the  direct  evidence  of  the  stratifi- 

have  advocated  the  late  date,  a.  d.  cation  of  the  remains  of  Taxila  that 

278.     But  their  theory  is   clearly  Kanishka   reigned   in   the    second 

indefensible.    The  substantial  con-  rather  than  the  first  century  of  the 

troversy  is   betvreen  the   scholars  Christian  era,  and  that  it  is  quite 

who  place  the  accession  of  Kanishka  impossible    to    accept   Dr.    Fleet's 

in  .jH  H.  c.  and  those  who  date  it  in  date  for  his  accession.     A  nearly 

or  about  a.  d.   78.     It   is   possible  complete  list  of  the  dated  inscrip- 

that  the  Kushan  kings  may  have  tions  will  be  found  in  the  author's 

used   a  special   era,  distinct   from  paper  on  the  Kushan  period,  cited 

the   Saka,  but  it  is   unlikely.     If  ante,  p.  251.     For  records  of  the 

such   an   era   was   used,  it   began  third  year  of  Kanishka  at  Sarnath 

after,   not    before,   a.  d.    78.     Dr.  near  Benares,   see   E)i.  Ind.,  viii, 

Marshall,    C.I.E.,    the     Director-  173.     Other    additions    also    have 

General     of     the     Archaeological  been  made  to  the  list. 


KADPHISES  AND  KANISHKA  257 

unconnected  with  them,  although  \vc  know  now  that  Kanishku 
was  not  the  son  of  Kadphises  II,  his  father's  name  heing 
Vajheshka,  or  Vajheshpa,  according  to  the  hest  reading  of  tiie 
inscription  which  gives  it.  The  coins  of  hoth  Kadphises  II  and 
Kanishka,  found  together  in  many  places,  frequently  display 
in  the  field  the  same  four-pronged  symhol,  and  agree  accurately 
in  weight  and  fineness,  besides  exhibiting  a  close  relationship 
in  the  obverse  devices.^  The  inevitable  inference  is  that  the 
two  kings  were  very  near  in  time  to  one  another — in  fact, 
that  one  immediately  followed  the  other.  Now  Kadphises  II 
(Yen-kao-ching)  was  beyond  doubt  not  only  the  successor 
but  the  son  of  Kadphises  I  (Kieu-tsieii-k'io),  who  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty  after  a  long  reign,  and  consequently  Kanishka, 
if  closely  associated  with  Kadphises  II,  must  have  been  his 
successor.  If,  as  some  scholars  hold,  the  group  of  kings 
comprising  Kanishka,  Vasishka,  Huvishka,  and  Vasudeva 
preceded  Kadphises  I,  the  coins  of  the  two  princes  last  named 
should  be  found  together,  as  they  are  not,  and  those  of 
Kadphises  II  and  Kanishka  should  not  be  associated,  as  they 
are.  We  must  accept  the  Chinese  evidence  that  Kadphises  II 
(Yen-kao-ching)  ^conquered  T^ien-chu  (India),  and  then  set 
up  generals,  who  governed  in  the  name  of  the  Yueh-chi^. 
Nobody  can  dispute  the  fact  that  Kanishka,  Vasishka,  and 
Huvishka  were  well  established  in  power  at  Mathura  on  the 
Jumna  as  well  as  in  Kashmir  and  in  the  intermediate  Panjab. 
It  is  not  apparent  how  they  could  have  attained  that  position 
prior  to  the  ^conquest  of  India ^  by  Kadphises  II,  as  attested 
by  the  Chinese  historian.  Without  further  pursuing  in  detail 
a  tedious  archaeological  argument,  it  will  suffice  to  say  here 
that  ample,  and  it  may  now  be  said  conclusive,  reason  can  be 
shown  for  holding  that  the  great  majority  of  Indiunists  are 

1  Examples  of  the  association  of  and  Huvishka  (Thomas,  Prinscp's 

the    coins    of    Kadphises    II    and  Eskoi/s,  I,  227  note);     3)  Masson's 

Kanishlca    are:     (1)   in    Gop?iipur  collections  from  Beghram,  25  miles 

.s-^tiprt,  Gorahkpur  District;  coins  of  from    Kabul     ibid.,    pp.    34-4^-51). 

Kadphises  II,  Kanishka,  Huvishka,  See    also    Ariann    Antiqua.     The 

and   a   much    earlier   prince,   Ayu  numerous    coins     found     by     Dr. 

Mitra  {Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  189(),  p.  lOO) ;  Marshall  at  Taxila  clearly  establisli 

(2)   Benares  hoard  of   1G3   pieces,  the  order  of  the  dynasties  as  stated 

namely  12  of  Kadphises   II,   and  in  the  text, 
the  rest  (4  not  read)  of  Kanishka 


258 


THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 


A.n.  78. 
Extent  of 
his 
dominion. 


right  in  placing  the  Kanishka  group  directly  after  tliat  of  the 
Kadphises  kings.  Our  knowledge  is  so  limited  that  difficulties 
remain,  whatever  theory  be  adopted,  but  the  ordinary  arrange- 
ment of  the  royal  names  appears  to  be  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  history  of  other  nations,  and  with  the  phenomena  of 
artistic,  literary,  and  religious  develojjment.^ 

Kanishka,  tiien,  may  be  assumed  to  have  succeeded 
Kadphises  II,  to  whom  presumably  he  was  related,  in  or  about 
A.D.  78.  Tradition  and  the  monuments  and  inscriptions  of 
his  time  prove  that  his  sway  extended  all  over  North- Western 
India,  probably  as  far  south  as  the  Vindhyas,  as  well  as  over 
the  remote  regions  beyond  the  Pamir  passes. 


'  Dr.  Fleet  (/.  7?.  A.  S.,  1903, 
190,5,  1906,  1913,  various  papers), 
as  well  as  Dr.  O.  Franke,  of  Berlin 
{Beitrage  aus  ch'uieslschen  Quellcn 
zur  Kenntnhs  der  TiirkriJlker  und 
Ski/then Zent.ralasiens,  Berlin,  1904.\ 
and  Mr.  James  Kennedy,  are  of 
opinion  that  Kanishka,  Vasishka, 
Huvishka,  and  Vasudeva  preceded 
the  Kadphises  kings,  and  that  the 
Vikrama  era  of  58  b.  c.  either  marks 
the  accession  of  Kanishka  or  coin- 
cides with  that  event.  I  have  care- 
fully studied  the  publications  of  the 
scholars  named,  and  regret  that  I 
must  continue  to  differ  from  them, 
and  to  hold  that  the  Kadphises 
kings  preceded  Kanishka,  who 
came  to  the  throne  about  a.d.  78. 
Dr.  Fleet  (J.  B.A.  S.,  1907,  p.  1048) 
makes  it  clear  that  he  attaches 
much  weight  to  a  tradition  that 
Kanishka  lived  400  years  after 
the  death  of  Buddha,  and  to  Dr. 
Franke's  opinion.  He  further 
argues  that  his  theory  supplies 
a  regular  series  of  epigraphic 
dates,  and  that  the  absence  of  the 
Ronuin  II  from  the  coin  legends  of 
Huvishka  indicates  an  early  date 
for  that  king.  The  last  two  argu- 
ments cannot  be  discussed  here, 
but  I  may  note  that  another  tradi- 
tion places  Kanishka  700  years  after 
Buddha  {hid.  Anf.^  xxxii,  1903,  p. 
382).  One  such  tradition  is  as  good 
as  another,  and  none  is  of  value. 
Various  traditions  place  Kanishka 
150,  300,  or  500  years  after  the 
Nirvana.     Dr.  Franke  lays  stress 


on  the  fact  that  Chinese  historians, 
as  distinguished  from  Buddhist 
writers,  never  mention  Kanishka. 
But  he  himself  sufficiently  answers 
this  argument  by  the  remark  that 
'  with  the  year  124  a.  d.  the  source 
was  dried  up  from  which  the 
chronicler  could  draw  informa- 
tion concerning  the  peoples  of 
Turkestan'  (p.  71  ;  see  also  p.  80). 
The  other  argument  on  which  he 
relies  is  based  on  the  well-known 
story  telling  how,  in  2  b.  c,  a  Yueh- 
chi  king  communicated  certain 
Buddhist  books  to  a  Chinese 
official.  The  inference  drawn  is 
that  the  king  in  question  must  have 
been  Kanishka.  I  admit  the 
premise,  that  is  to  say,  the  fact 
that  in  the  year  2  b.  c.  the  king  of 
Yueh-chi  knew  and  cared  some- 
thing about  Buddhism  ;  but  I  deny 
the  conclusion  drawn  by  Dr.  Franke 
and  M.  Sylvain  Levi.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  devising  better  explana- 
tions of  the  admitted  fact.  Dr. 
Franke  (p.  96j  greatly  underrates 
the  power  and  influence  of 
Kanishka.  This  misunderstanding 
appears  to  be  due  to  the  learned 
author's  avowed  indifference  to 
Indian  archaeological  evidence 
(p.  100  .  It  seems  to  me  that  no 
historical  problem  can  be  solved 
satisfactorily  without  a  careful 
review  of  the  evidence  of  all  kinds, 
and  that  reasoning  which  siirinks 
from  grappling  with  certain  classes 
of  facts  cannot  claim  to  be  decisive. 


KANISHKA'S  POWER  259 

Hiuen  Tsaiig,  wlio  recorded  the  history  or  tradition  which 
he  learned  in  Kapisa,  expressly  states  that  '  when  Kanishka 
reigned  in  Gandhora  his  power  reached  the  neighhouring 
states,  and  his  influence  extended  to  distant  regions '.  He 
kept  order,  we  are  told,  over  a  wide  territory  reaching  to  the 
east  of  the  Tsung-ling  mountains,  that  is  to  say,  ^the 
meridional  range  or  ranges  which  huttress  the  Pamir  region 
on  the  east  and  divide  it  from  tiie  Tarim  Basin.'  ^  In  India 
his  coins  are  found  constantly  associated  with  those  of 
Kadphises  II  from  Kabul  to  Ghazlpur  on  the  Ganges,  while 
their  vast  number  and  variety  indicate  a  reign  of  con- 
siderable length.  His  dominions  included  Upper  Sind,^  and 
his  high  reputation  as  a  conf[ueror  suggests  the  probability 
that  he  extended  his  power  to  the  mouths  of  the  Indus,  and 
swept  away,  if  they  still  existed,  the  petty  Parthian  princes 
who  still  ruled  that  region  in  the  first  century  after  Christ, 
but  are  heard  of  no  more  afterwards. 

The  Indian  embassy  which  offered  its  congratulations  to  Relations 
Trajan  at  some  date  after  his  return  to  Rome  in  a.  d.  99  may  Rome, 
have  been  dispatched  by  Kanishka  to  announce  his  conquests.^ 

The  temporary  annexation  of  Mesopotamia  between  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris  in  a.  d.  116  by  Trajan  brought  the 
Roman  frontier  within  600  miles  of  the  western  limits  of 
the  Yueh-chi  empire.  Although  the  province  to  the  east  of 
the  Euphrates  was  given  up  by  Hadrian  in  the  year  after  its 
annexation,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  at  this  period  the 
rulers  of  Northern  and  Western  India  were  well  acquainted 
with  the  fame  and  power  of  the  great  empire  in  the  west.^ 

^  St&in,  Ancient  Khotan,  p.  27.  ^  'And  to  Trajan  after  he  had 

^  Inscription  at  Sue  Vihar,  near  arrived  in  Rome  there  came  a  prreat 

Bahawalpur,  ed.  Hoernle, /nrZ.  ^n^.  many  embassies    from    barbarian 

X,  324,  dated  in  the  year  11  in  the  courts,   and    especially    from    the 

reign  of  mahdrdja  rajdtmlja  (leva-  Indians  .   .  .   He  (Trajan)  having 

putra  Kanishka,  on  the  28th  day  of  reached  the  ocean  (at  tlie  mouth  of 

the  month   Daisios  of  the   Mace-  the  Tigris)   saw   a   vessel    setting 

donian    calendar.     That    calendar  sail     for     India '    (Dion     Cassius, 

might  be  used  in  connexion  with  Ilisf.  Rom.,  ix,  58;    Ixvii,  28;   in 

any  era,  as  it  was  used  with  the  McCrindle,  Anc.  India   (1901),  p. 

Pontic  era  of  297  b.  c.   by  Pontic  213). 

cities  (Num.  Chrou.,  1905,  p.  118^.  *  The   provinces  abandoned   by 

Similarly,  Jahangir  used  the  names  Hadrian   were   Armenia,   Mesopo- 

of  the  Persian  solar  months  with  taraia,  and  Assyria  ^Meri vale,  7//s^. 

the  Hijri  lunar  year.  of  the  Iioman,i,  ch.  Ixvi). 

S2 


260 


THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 


Conquest 
of  Kash- 


Attack  on 

Patalipu- 

tra! 


Kuiiislika  in:iy  be  credited  with  liaviiig  completed  the 
s\il)j nidation  and  annexation  of  the  secluded  vale  of  Kashmir. 
He  certainly  showed  a  marked  preference  for  that  delightful 
country,  where  he  erected  numerous  monuments,  and  founded 
a  town,  which,  although  now  reduced  to  a  petty  village,  still 
bears  his  honoured  name.^ 

Tradition  affirms  that  he  penetrated  far  into  the  interior  of 
India,  and  attacked  the  king  residing  at  the  ancient  imperial 
city  of  Pataliputra.  It  is  said  that  he  carried  off  from  that 
city  a  Buddhist  saint  named  Asvaghosha.  Comparison  of  the 
different  versions  of  this  story  gives  reasons  for  accepting  as 
true  at  least  the  bare  fact  that  Kanishka  and  Asvaghosha  were 
contemporaries.^     If  the  chronology  adopted  in  this  edition 


^  Stein,  Zi'f7/rt/.,  transl.  bk.  i,  168- 
72.  Kanishkapura  is  now  repre- 
sented by  the  village  of  Kanispor, 
74°  28'  E.  long.,  34"  14'  N.  lat., 
situated  between  the  Vitasta  Bihat'j 
river  and  the  high  road  leading 
from  Varahamula  (^Baramfila')  to 
Srinagar.  The  text  of  the  Kashmir 
chronicle  is  as  follows :  *  Then 
there  were  in  this  land  three 
kings,  called  Hushka,  Jushka,  and 
Kanishka,  who  built  three  towns 
named  after  them.  That  wise  king 
Jushka,  who  built  Juslikapura  with 
its  Vihara,  was  also  the  founder  of 
Jayasvamipura.  These  kings,  who 
were  given  to  acts  of  piety,  though 
descended  from  the  Turushka  race, 
built  at  Sushkaletra  and  other 
places  mrJjias,  chaityas,  and  similar 
Fstructures] '  (Stein,  transl.  RCija- 
iar.,  Bk.  I,  vv.  168-71).  Kalhana 
adds  that  during  the  rule  of  those 
powerful  princes  Kashmir  to  a  large 
extent  was  in  the  possession  of  the 
Buddhists.  He  dates  them  l>iO 
years  after  the  Nirvana,  which  is, 
of  course,  absurd.  Jushka  suggests 
an  alternative  form  of  the  name  to 
be  Juvishka.  His  reality  is  attested 
by  the  continued  existence  of  his 
town,  now  tlie  large  village  of 
Zukur,  to  the  north  of  Srinagar. 
There  is  no  sufficient  reason  to 
identify  him  with  Vasudeva.  He 
may  have  been  merely  a  Viceroy 
in  Kashmir.  Coins  of  Kanishka 
and  Hiivishka  are  abundant  in  that 


country.  The  word  Turushhi  was 
often  applied  to  Muhammadans,and 
meant,  I  think,  simply  '  foreigner 
from  beyond  the  passes '.  The 
term  must  not  be  interpreted  as 
implying  a  belief  that  Kanishka,  &c. , 
belonged  to  the  Turks,  or  any  other 
distinct  nomad  people. 

2  Chinese  translation,  made  in 
A.  D.  472,  of  a  lost  Sanskrit  work 
called  the  Sri  Dharmajntaka-sam- 
praddya-niddna  (?),  in  Levi,  Notes 
sur  les  Tndo-Scythes,  p.  36.  Accord- 
ing to  a  Tibetan  tradition,  Ka- 
nishka dispatched  a  friendly  invita- 
tion to  Asvaghosha,  who,  being 
unable  to  accept  it  on  account  of 
age  and  infirmities,  sent  his  disciple 
Jilana  Yasa  in  his  stead  (transl.  of 
Sumpdhi  Clt^oijfing  in  ./.  Buddhist 
Text  Soc,  1893,  part  iii,  p.  13).  A 
variantversionisgiveninSchiefner's 
Tdrand/h,  ch.  xii ;  and  another  by 
Wattcrs  (ii,  104 1,  who  says  that  the 
saint  was  given  to  Ka-ni-ta  (Ka- 
nishka, king  of  the  Yue-ti,  as  part 
of  a  war  indemnity.  The  form 
Kanita,  with  aspirated  f,  used  by 
the  Chinese  author,  is  explained  by 
the  tradition  of  the  local  Brahmans 
of  Kanishkapura  (Kanispor  ,  who 
ascribe  the  foundation  of  the  place 
to  Kanishtha  raja  (Stein,  transl. 
Rdjat.,  Bk.  I,  v.  168,  note).  This 
king,  Kanit'a,  treated  the  bhikshu 
with  much  kindness  and  esteem, 
and  Asvaghosha  continued  his 
labours  in  iiis  new  place  of  abode 


r    V 


•^ 


INSCRIBED    LIFE-SIZE    STATL'E    OF    KAMSUKA,    FROM    -MAT    IN    MATIIURA 

DISTRICT 

Photograph   by  Brajbdsi  Friend  cs^   Co.,  Mitltra) 


260 


KANI8HKA'S  CAPITAL  261 

be  correct,  the  sway  of  the  Indo-Scythian  or  Kushan  dynasty 
was  extended  durhig  the  reign  of  Kanishka  over  Western 
India,  through  the  agency  of  Nahapana,  the  Kshaharata 
satrap  of  Maharashtra,  and  of  Chaslitana,  the  satrap  of 
Ujjain,  who  probably  was  a  Saka.  Both  of  those  princes, 
as  their  official  title  indicates,  must  have  been  subordinate  to 
a  paramount  power,  which  cannot  have  been  other  than  the 
government  of  Kanishka. 

Kanishka's  capital  was  Purusliapura,  the  modern  Pesha-  His 
war,  the  city  wiiich  then  guarded,  as  it  now  does,  the  main 
road  from  the  Afghan  hills  to  the  Indian  plains.  There, 
in  his  latter  days,  when  he  had  become  a  fervent  Buddhist, 
he  erected  a  great  relic  tower,  which  seems  to  have  deserved 
to  rank  among  the  wonders  of  the  world.  The  super- 
structure of  carved  Avood  rose  in  tliirteen  stories  to  a 
height  of  at  least  400  feet,  surmounted  by  a  mighty  iron 
pinnacle.  When  Song-yun,  a  Chinese  pilgrim,  visited  the 
spot  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  this  structure 
had  been  thrice  destroyed  by  fire,  and  as  often  rebuilt  by 
pious  kings.  A  monastery  of  exceptional  magnificence 
which  stood  by  its  side,^  was  still  flourishing  as  a  place  of 

in  Kashmir.    Mr.  Watters  adds  that  iiath  (Schiefner,  t-h.  xili,  p.  62)  men- 

*  this    great    Buddhist,    who    ap-  tioiis    the    neighbouring   town    of 

parently  hved  in  the  second  century  PushkalavatI  as  a  royal  residence 

of  our  era,  was  a  poet,  musician,  of    Kanishka's    son.     The    fullest 

scholar,   religious   controversialist,  description  of  the  great  relic  tower 

and  zealous  Buddhist  monk,  ortho-  is  that  by  Song-yun  (Beal,  Records, 

dox  in  creed,  and  a  strict  observer  vol.  i,  p.  ciii,  and  in  M.  Chavannes's 

of    discipline'.     Asvaghosha    was  revised  version,  Hanoi,  1903).    It  is 

apupilofParsva,  who  took  a  leading  mentioned  by  Fa-hien  (ch.  xii)  and 

part  in  Kanishka's  Council  (Wat-  Hiuen  Tsang  (Bk.  ii,  Beal,  i,  99; 

ters,  i,209);   M.  Foucher  also  holds  Watters,  i,  204-).     Even  so  late  as 

independently,  fi'ora  '  le  teraoignage  a.d.  1030  Alberuni  alludes  to  the 

des  bas-reliefs ',   that  A)>vaghosha  Kanik-chaitya   (Sachau,   transl.   ii, 

lived  in  the  second  century  after  11).     The  monastery  is  described 

Christ     [UArt     grcco-houddhique,  by  Hiuen  Tsang  (Beal,  i,  103).  The 

i,  633).     If  those  opinions  be  well  identification  of  the  site  is  due  to 

founded,  and  if  Asvaghosha  was  to  M.  Foucher  (op.  cit.,  pp.  9-13,  with 

some    extent   contemporary    with  view  and  plan).    The  site  indicated 

Kanishka,    that    monarch    cannot  by  M.  Foucher  has  been  excavated 

have  come  to  the  throne  in  58  b.  c.  by  the  Archaeological  Department 

^  For   the   topography  of    Gan-  with  remarkable  success,  the  most 

dhara,  the  region  around  Peshawar,  notable    discovery    being    Luat    of 

the  only  trustworthy  authority  is  the  now  celebrated  relic  casket  bear- 

M.    Foucher's   admirable    treatise,  ing   an   image   and  inscription   of 

Xotes  siir   la  geographie   ancienne  Kanishka,    whose    Superintending 

du  Gandhdra  (Hanoi,  1902).    Tara-  Engineer  had  the  Greek  name  of 


262  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

Buddhist  education  as  late  as  the  ninth  century  when  it  was 
visited  by  Viradeva,  an  eminent  Buddhist  scliolar,  who 
subsequently  was  appointed  abbot  of  Nalanda  in  the  reign 
of  king  Devapala  of  Magadha  {c.  a.d.  844!-92).i 

The  final  demolition  of  this  celebrated  establishment  un- 
doubtedly must  have  been  due  to  the  Muhammadan  invasions 
of  Mahnuid  of  Ghazni  and  his  successors.  Muslim  zeal 
against  idolatry  was  always  excited  to  acts  of  destruction  by 
tlie  spectacle  of  the  innumerable  images  with  which  Buddhist 
holy  places  were  crowded. 
Parthian  The  ambition  of  Kanishka,  as  already  observed,  was  not 
^^'^'^^  confined   by  the  limits  of   India.     He   is   alleged    to   have 

engaged  in  successful  war  with  the  Parthians,  liaving  been 
attacked  by  the   king  of  that  nation,  Avho  is  described  by 
the  tradition  as  'very  stupid  and  with  a  violent  temper ^.^ 
The   prince   referred  to   may  be  either  Chosroes   (Khusru), 
or  one  of  the  rival  kings  who  disputed  the  possession  of  the 
Parthian  throne  between  a.d.  108  and  130." 
Conquest        The  most  striking  military  exploit  of  Kanishka  was   his 
^ar  Yar-    conquest  of  Kashgar,  Yarkand,  and  Khotan,  extensive  pro- 
kand,  and  vinces  of  Chinese  Turkestan  lying  to  the  north  of  Tibet  and 

-17-1  1,  J  iD 

the  east  of  the  Pamirs,  and  at  that  time,  as  now,  dependencies 
of  China. ^  When  he  had  attempted  the  same  arduous 
adventure  in  a.  d.  90,  he  had  failed  ignominiously,  as  already 
related,  and  had  been  compelled  to  pay  tribute  to  China; 
but,  at  a  later  date,  after  the  death  of  Pan-chao,  and  when 
he  felt  himself  secure  in  the  peaceful  possession  of  India  and 
Kashmir,  he  A^as  better  prepared  to  surmount  the  appalling 
difficulties  of  conveying  an  effective  army  across  the  passes 
of  the  Taghdumbash  Pamir,  which  no  modern  ruler  of  India 
would  dare  to  face.  Kanishka  succeeded  in  his  second 
expedition  ;  and  not  only  freed  himself  from  the  obligation 

Agesilaos (/.  J?.  A.  6'., 1908,  p.  1109;  2  j^^yj^  ^p   pjj.^  p   4.9, 

Ann.  Rep.  Arch.  S.,  India,  1908-9,  ^  q    Rawlinson,  Parthia  (1893), 

pp.  38-60;    Hist,   of  Fine  Art  in  p.  316. 

India  and   Ceylon,  pp.  356-8,   pi.  *  Yarkand  represents  the  modern 

Ixxv  .  pronunciation.    Yarkand  often  oc- 

1  Ghosrawa  inscription,  cd.  and  curs  in  Muhammadan  texts  (Stein, 

transl.  by  Kiclhorn,  Ind.  Ant.,  xvii  Anc.  Khotan,  p.  87). 
(1888),  pp.  307-1:^. 


THE  HOSTAGES  263 

of  paying  tribute  to  China,  but  exacted  the  surrender  of 
hostages  from  a  state  tributary  to  the  Chinese  empire. 
The  assertion  made  by  one  authority  that  the  hostages 
included  a  son  of  the  emperor  of  the  Han  dynasty  does 
not  appear  to  be  worthy  of  belief.  The  territory  of  the 
ruler  to  whose  family  the  hostages  belonged  seems  to  have 
been  not  very  distant  from  Kashgar. 

The  hostages  were  treated,  as  beseemed  their  princely  The 
rank,  with  the  utmost  consideration,  and  were  assigned  suit-  °^  ^^^' 
able  residences  at  different  Buddhist  monasteries  for  each  of 
the  three  seasons — the  hot,  the  cold,  and  the  rains.  During 
the  time  of  the  summer  heats,  when  the  burning  plains  are 
not  pleasant  to  live  in,  they  enjoyed  the  cool  breezes  at 
a  Hinayanist  monastery  named  Sha-lo-ka,  perhaps  meaning 
*  the  Kashgar  monastery ',  situated  in  the  hills  of  Kapisa,  the 
modern  Kafiristan,  beyond  Kabul,  which  was  erected  spe- 
cially for  their  accommodation.  During  the  spring  and 
autumn,  including  the  rainy  season,  they  resided  in  Gandhara, 
no  doubt  at  the  capital ;  M'hile  they  spent  the  cold  A^eather 
at  an  unidentified  place  in  the  Eastern  Panjab,  to  which  the 
name  of  Chinabhukti,  or  '  the  Chinese  allotment ',  was  given 
in  consequence.  They  were  reputed  to  have  introduced  the 
pear  and  peach,  previously  unkno^Mi  in  that  part  of  India, 
during  their  residence  at  Chinabhukti.  One  of  their  number, 
before  returning  home,  deposited  a  rich  store  of  gold  and 
jewels  for  the  endowment  of  the  Kapisa  establishment,  and 
they  all  continued  to  recognize  the  generosity  Mith  which 
they  had  been  treated  by  remitting  offerings  for  the  benefit 
of  the  brethren.  The  grateful  monks  adorned  their  walls 
with  paintings  representing  their  guests,  who  are  said  to  have 
been  somewhat  like  Chinamen  in  appearance  and  dress. 
When  Hiuen  Tsang  resided  at  the  Kapisa  monastery,  during 
the  rainy  season  of  a.d.  630,  he  found  that  his  hosts  still 
cherished  the  memory  of  their  benefactors,  and  celebrated 
services  in  their  honour.  He  also  stayed  for  fourteen  months 
in  A.D.  633-4;  at  the  hostages'  monastery  in  Chinabhukti. 

The  biographer  of  Hiuen  Tsang  tells  a  curious  story  about  Story  of 
the  treasure  deposited  by  the  hostage  as  an  endowment  for  treasure. 


264  THE  KUSHAX  DYNASTY 

the  Sha-lo-ka  shrine  at  Kapisa ;  which  was  known  to  be 
buried  under  the  feet  of  the  image  of  Vaisravana,  otherwise 
known  as  Kuvera,  or  Jarabhala,  the  Great  Spirit  King,  at 
the  south  side  of  the  eastern  gate  of  the  hall  of  Buddha.  An 
impious  Raja  who  had  tried  to  appropriate  the  hoard  was 
frightened  away  by  portents  which  seemed  to  indicate  the 
displeasure  of  its  guardian  spirit,  and  when  the  monks 
endeavoured  to  make  use  of  it  for  the  purpose  of  repairing 
the  shrine,  in  accordance  with  the  donor's  intention,  they, 
too,  were  terrified  by  similar  manifestations. 

While  Hiuen  Tsang  was  lodging  at  the  shrine,  the  monks 
besought  him  to  use  his  influence  with  the  spirit  to  obtain 
permission  to  expend  the  treasure  on  urgently  needed  repairs 
of  the  steeple.  The  pilgrim  complied,  burned  incense,  and 
duly  assured  the  guardian  spirit  that  no  waste  or  misappro- 
priation would  be  permitted.  The  workmen  who  were  set  to 
dig  up  the  spot  then  suffered  no  molestation,  and  at  a  depth 
of  7  or  8  feet  found  a  great  copper  vessel  containing  several 
hundredweight  of  gold  and  a  quantity  of  pearls.  The 
balance  of  the  treasure  left  after  the  repairs  to  the  steeple 
has  doubtless  been  appropriated  long  since  by  excavators 
less  scrupulous  than  the  pious  Master  of  the  Law,^ 

^  The  grounds  of  the  statements  The  hostages'  monasterj-  at  Ka- 

in  the  text  are  stated  at  length  in  pisa  was  Hlnayanist,  and  therefore 

App.  L  of  the  second  edition,  which  presumably  connected  with  Hlna- 

need    not    be    reprinted.      It   wUl  yanist   Kashgar   rather  than  with 

suffice  to  note  here  a  few  points.  Mahayanist   Yarkand.     It   is  pos- 

The  territory  from  which  the  host-  sible  that  the  introduction  of  the 

ages  came  was  the  Chinese  depen-  Hinayana  into  Kashgar  may  date 

dency  wateredbytheSltaorYarkand  from  Asoka's  time, 

river  and   the  so-called   Chakshu,  The  treasure,  according  to  Beal's 

that  is  to  say,  the  Oxus.    The  name  version,  consisted  of  *  several  hun- 

Chakshu  seems  to  have  been  ob-  dred   catt'us  of  gold,   and   several 

tained  from  the  astronomer  Bha-  scores  [srll.   of  catties'  of  pearls '. 

skara   Acharya     Colebrooke,    Sid-  The  catty  is  a  Chinese  weight,  said 

dhdnta  Siromani,  &c.,  and  Wilson,  to  be  equal  to  about  Ij  lb.  avoir- 

Sanskrit  D!ct.,s.y.  Mi^ru,  quotedin  dupois.      The    references    for  the 

Elliot,  Hist,  of  India,  I,  50  .     But  hostages'  story  are  : — 

Prof.  Pathak  has  shown   7n<i.  .J  n/. ,  Hiuen   Tsang    Yuan    Chwang  , 

lyn,  p.  ^(io  that  the  Sanskrit  name  Records,  in  Watters,  I,   124,   and 

for  the   Oxtis  should   be  Vakshu.  Beal    I,  37,  for  Kapisa;    ibid.,  in 

I  conclude  therefore,  that  'Chak-  Watters,  I,  i92,  and  Beal,  I,  173 

shu '  is  a  clerical  error  for  '  Vakshu ',  for  Chlnablaukti :   and  Life,  p.  34, 

due  to  the  confusion  of  the  charac-  for  Kapisa.     The   story  has   been 

ters  ch  and  r,  which  might  easily  discussed  by  O.   Franke,  Beitriige 

occur  in  mediaeval  script.  .  .  .  zur  Kenntnu  der  Turkcvlker, 


CONVERSION  OF  KANISHKA  265 

The  stories  told  about  Kanishka's  conversion  and  his  Echoes  of 
subsequent  zeal  for  Buddhism  have  so  much  resemblance  to  ieirends. 
the  Asoka  legends  that  it  is  difficult  to  decide  how  far  they 
are  traditions  of  actual  fact,  and  how  far  merely  echoes  of 
an  older  tradition.  The  Yueh-chi  monarch  did  not  record 
passages  from  his  autobiography  as  Asoka  did,  and  when  we 
are  informed  in  the  pages  of  a  pious  tract  that  his  con- 
version Avas  due  to  remorse  for  the  blood  shed  during  his 
wars,  it  was  impossible  to  check  the  statement.^  Probably  it 
is  merely  an  echo  of  the  story  of  Asoka,  as  told  b}'  himself. 

Just  as  the  writers  of  edifying  books  sought  to  enhance  The  con- 
the  glory  of  Asoka's  conversion  to  the  creed  of  the  mild  Kanishka. 
Sakya  sage  by  blood-curdling  tales  of  the  king's  fiendish 
cruelty  during  the  days  of  his  unbelief,  so  Kanishka  was 
alleged  to  have  had  no  faith  either  in  right  or  wrong,  and  to 
have  lightly  esteemed  the  law  of  Buddha  during  his  earlier 
life.'^  The  most  authentic  evidence  on  the  subject  of  his 
changes  of  faith  is  afforded  by  the  long  and  varied  series 
of  his  coins,  which,  like  most  ancient  coinages,  I'eflect  the 
religious  ideas  both  of  the  monarch  in  whose  name  they  were 
struck,  and  of  the  peoples  whom  he  subdued.  The  finest, 
and  presumably  the  earliest,  pieces  bear  legends,  Greek 
in  both  script  and  language,  with  effigies  of  the  sun  and 
moon  personified  under  their  Greek  names,  Helios  and 
Selene.^  On  later  issues  the  Greek  script  is  retained,  but 
the  language  is  a  form  of  old  Persian,  while  the  deities 
depicted  are  a  strange  medley  of  the  gods  worshipped  by 
Greeks,  Persians,  and  Indians.'*     The  rare  coins  exhibiting 

&c.,    Berhn     ^Konigl.     Alcacl.     d.  il  confessa  sa  faute,  se  repentit,  fit 

Wissensch.),  1904,  pp.  80  foil.     For  la  charite,  observa  les  defenses,  fit 

identificatiou  of  the  Sita  river,  see  clever  un  monastere  et  donner  de 

Stein,  Ancient  Klwtan  (1907  ,  pp.  la  nourriture  aux  raoines '  (C'on^e  16, 

21,  33,  42.     The  correct  transcrip-  ScDhyukfa-rafnapilakii,      in      Levi, 

tion,  Clunahhukti,  is  due  toWatters.  Notes  sur  les  Indo-Scythes,  p.  34). 

The   town  lay  to  the  SW.  of  Ja-  The  yofi''.-,  revised  by  the  author, 

landhar,   and    must  be   sought  in  have     been     translated     by     Mr. 

the  Firozpur  District.  Philipps  in  Ind.  Ant.,  1903,  p.  381 ; 

^  '  Comme  il  avait    en   raaintes  1904,  p.  10. 

occasions  tue  a  la  guerre  plus  de  ^  Beal,  Records,  i,  99. 

trois  cent  mille  homraes,  il  sentit  *  Spelt  Salene  on  the  coins, 

que  sa  faute  devait  etre  infaillible-  *  Besides    the   technical    numis- 

ment  punie  dans  Tavenir.     II  fut  raatic  works,  see   Stein's   remark- 

pris  au  coeur  d'angoisse  ;   aussitot  able  paper  on  *  Zoroastrian  Deities 


266  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

images  of  Buddha  Sakyamuni  with  his  name  in  Greek  letters 
are  usually  considered  to  be  among  the  latest  of  the  reign, 
but  the)^  are  well  executed,  and  may  be  earlier  in  date  than 
is  generally  supposed.^  Although  it  is  impossible  to  fix  the 
exact  date  of  Kanishka's  conversion,  the  event  evidently  did 
not  occur  until  he  had  been  for  some  years  on  the  throne. 
BHddha  The  appearance  of  the  Buddha  among  a  crowd  of  hetero- 

'  geneous  deities  would  have  appeared  strange,  in  fact  would 
have  been  inconceivable  to  Asoka,  while  it  seemed  quite 
natural  to  Kanishka.  The  newer  Buddhism  of  his  day, 
designated  as  the  Mahayana,  or  Great  Vehicle,  must  have 
been  largely  of  foreign  origin,  and  its  development  was  the 
result  of  the  complex  interaction  of  Indian,  Zoroastrian, 
Christian,  Gnostic,  and  Hellenic  elements,  which  had  been 
made  possible  by  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  the  formation 
of  the  Maurya  empire  in  India,  and,  above  all,  by  the  unifi- 
cation of  the  Roman  world  under  the  sway  of  the  earlier 
emperors.  In  this  newer  Buddhism  the  sage  Gautama 
became  in  practice,  if  not  in  theory,  a  god,  with  his  ears  open 
to  the  prayers  of  the  faithful,  and  served  by  a  hierarchy  of 
Bodhisattvas  and  other  beings  acting  as  mediators  between 
him  and  sinful  men.  Such  a  Buddha  rightly  took  a  place 
among  the  gods  of  the  nations  comprised  in  Kanishka's 
widespread  empire,  and  the  monarch,  even  after  his  'conver- 
sion', probably  continued  to  honour  both  the  old  and  the 
new  gods,  as,  in  a  later  age,  Harsha  did  alternate  reverence 
to  Siva  and  Buddha. 
Gandhara  The  celebrated  Gandhara  sculptures,  found  abundantly 
tiires  "^    ^'^^    Peshawar    district    and    neighbouring    regions,    the 

ancient  Gandhara,  of  which  many  excellent  examples  date 
from  the  time  of  Kanishka  and  his  proximate  successors, 
give    vivid    expression    in    classical    forms   of    considei'able 

on  Iiido-Scythian  Coins'  {Or.  and  in  Vienna  Or.  J. ,11  (1888),  pp.  237- 

liuhyl.    Jh-cord,   August,    1887,  re-  44.     So  far  as  I  can  understand  the 

j)rinted  by  Nutt  in  same  year ;  and,  technical    details,   the    critics    are 

with  additions,  in  Jnd.  Aid.,  xvii  right.     Dr.  Kirste's  paper  was  not 

(188S  ,  p.  89).  The  theories  of  Sir  M.  known  to  me  when  my  second  edi- 

Aurel  Stein  have  been  criticized  ad-  tion  was  published, 
versely  on  philological  grounds  by  '  Von  Sallet,  Nachfolger,  p.  195. 

Kirste,  with  the  approval  of  Seiger, 


266 


KANISHKA'S  COUNCIL  267 

artistic  merit  to  this  modified  Buddhism,  a  religion  with 
a  compHcated  mythology  and  well-filled  pantlieon.^  The 
florid  Corinthian  capitals  and  many  other  characteristic 
features  of  the  style  prove  that  the  Gandhara  school  was  merely 
a  branch  of  the  cosmopolitan  Graeco-Roman  art  of  the  early 
empire.  The  most  competent  critics  are  now  generally 
agreed  that  the  school  reached  its  highest  point  of  develop- 
ment early  in  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era.^ 

In  Buddhist  ecclesiastical  history  the  reign  of  Kanishka  Buddhist 
is  specially  celebrated  for  the  convocation  of  a  council, 
organized  on  the  model  of  that  summoned  by  Asoka.  Ka- 
nishka's  council,  which  is  ignored  by  the  Ceylonese  chroni- 
clers, who  probably  never  heard  of  it,  is  known  only  from 
the  traditions  of  Northern  India,  as  preserved  by  Tibetan, 
Chinese,  and  Mongolian  writers.  The  accounts  of  this 
assembly,  like  those  of  the  earlier  councils,  are  discrepant, 
and  the  details  are  obviously  legendary. 

Kanishka,  we  are  told,  studied  the  Buddhist  scriptures  in 
his  leisure  hours  under  the  guidance  of  a  monk,  who  attended 
daily  at  the  palace  to  give  him  instruction.  The  king, 
becoming  hopelessly  puzzled  by  the  conflicting  doctrines  of 
the  various  sects  or  schools,  suggested  to  his  adviser,  the 
Venerable  Parsva,  that  it  would  be  well  to  obtain  an 
authoritative  exposition  of  the  truth.  Parsva  gave  his 
cordial  approval  to  the  suggestion,  and  arrangements  were 
made  accordingly  for  a  general  assembly  of  theologians. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  all  the  learned  men  assembled 
seem  to  have  belonged  to  a  single  school,  the  Sarvasti\adins 
of  the  Hinayana,  or  Little  Vehicle.  The  first  question 
demanding  settlement  was  that  of  the  place  of  meeting.  The 
king  proposed  his  capital  in  Gandhara,  but  objection  was 
taken  to  the  hot  damp  climate.     Somebody  then  suggested 

^  This  fact,  which  was  not  recog;-  GandliCira,  of  which  the  first  volume 
nized  by  the  earher  writers  on  the  (639  pp.)  appeared  in  1905.  The 
subject,  has  been  established  by  second  volume  has  not  been  pub- 
Prof.  Griinwedel  and  M.  Foucher.  lished.  See  also  ^  History  of  Fine 
The  sculptures  include  innumerable  Art  in  India  and  Ceylon,  ch.  iv. 
figures  of  Bodhisattvas.  The  leading  ^  The  officers  of  the  Archaeo- 
authority  is  M.  Foucher's  masterly  logical  Department  are  inclined  to 
work,   UArt   yrico-bouddhique  du  assign  an  earlier  date. 


268  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

Rajagriha,  in  Magadha,  where  the  first  council  was  reputed 
to  have  met.  Ultimately  it  was  decided  to  convoke  the 
assembly  in  the  pleasant  climate  of  Kashmir,  at  a  monastery 
named  Kundalavana,  near  the  capital  of  that  country. 
Vasumitra  was  elected  president^  and  Asvaghosha,  the  famous 
author,  who,  according  to  the  story,  had  been  carried 
off  from  Pataliputra,  was  appointed  vice-president.  The 
members,  500  in  number^  devoted  themselves  to  a  thorough 
examination  of  theological  literature  from  the  most  remote 
antiquity,  and  elaborated  huge  commentaries  on  the  three 
main  divisions  of  the  Canon.  The  works  so  prepared 
included  the  Mahdvibhdshd,  which  still  exists  in  Chinese, 
and  is  described  as  being  an  encyclopaedia  of  Buddhist 
philosophy.  Dr.  Takakusu,  a  highly  competent  authority, 
is  of  opinion  that  until  this  work  shall  have  been  made 
accessible  to  scholars  it  will  be  vain  to  argue  about  the 
Council  of  Kashmir  or  its  works.  When  the  labours  of  the 
assembly  were  completed,  the  commentaries  were  copied  on 
sheets  of  copper,  which  were  deposited  in  a  stupa  built  for  this 
purpose  by  order  of  khig  Kanishka.  It  is  possible  that  these 
precious  records  may  still  exist  buried  under  some  mound  near 
Srinagar,  and  that  a  lucky  chance  may  reveal  them.  After  the 
conclusion  of  the  business  of  the  council,  Kanishka  renewed 
Asoka's  donation  of  the  kingdom  of  Kashmir  to  the  Church, 
and  went  home  through  the  Baramula  Pass.^     I  am  disposed 

'  Hiuen  Tsang,  the  leading  au-  iiig  to  hiiu,  Asvaghosha  was  invited 

thority  (Beal,  i,  117,  1j1  ;  Watters,  from  Saketa  in  the  Sra vast!  province 

i,  pp.  -270-8  ;  Takakusu's  review  of  for  the  purpose  of  applying  his  well- 

Watters,  J. /'.  Yi.  >S.,  1905,  p.  111\  known  literary  skill  to  the  redac- 

states  that  the  council  was  convened  tion  of  the  commentaries  drafted  by 

in  Kashmir  under  the  presidency  of  the  council  (Takakusu,  /.  R.  A.  S., 

Vasumitra,  by  Kanishka,  kmg  of  li)Oj,  p.  62). 

Gandhara,  acting  on  the  advice  of  Vasumitra's  work,  Mahnvibhdshd 

Parsva   or   Pursvika.     Paramartha  A7.v^ralNo.  li263of  Nanjio'sCatal.), 

(a.d.    499-569 j,   in   his   biography  ascribed  to  the  time  of  Kanishka, 

of  Vasubandhu  (see  App.  N  of  this  was  an  elaborate  commentary  on 

edition)  gives  an  independent  ac-  the    J nunapratithCtna    Sdsira,    the 

count  of  the  council  as  having  been  fundamental  work  of  the  Sarvasti- 

hcld  in   Kashmir  at  some  time  in  vadin   school  (Takakusu ;    I-tsing, 

tiie  fifth  century  ('  in  the  five  hun-  Biiddliixt  Prdcfire.i,  p.  xxi). 

drcds ',  after  the  K'irvana.    He  does  The    Mongolians    represent    the 

not  name  king  Kanishka,  and  as-  council  as  engaged  in  the  collection 

cribes  the  summoning  of  the  as-  of  the  sayings  of  Buddha.     It  met 

serably  to  Katyayaniputra.  Accord-  at  Jalanclhar,  which  was  in  Kash- 


DEATH  OF  KANLSHKA  269 

to  (late  the  council  somewhere  about  a.d.  100.     No  political 
importance  should  be  attached  to  the  assembly. 

The   legends    published    by    M.    Sylvain    Levi   include   a  Legend  of 
strange  tale  professing  to  relate  the  end  of  Kanishka,  which  ka^s^eath 
possibly  may  be  founded  on  fact.    It  supports  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  history  advocated  by  Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji,  which 
I  have  adopted  as  being  the  most  probable  explanation  of  the 
known  facts. 

'The  king,'  so  runs  the  story,  ^had  a  minister  named 
Mathara,  of  unusual  intelligence.  He  addressed  Kanishka 
in  these  words :  "  Sire,  if  you  wish  to  follow  the  advice  of 
your  servant,  your  power  will  assuredly  bring  the  \\hole 
world  into  subjection.  All  will  submit  to  you,  and  the 
eight  regions  will  take  refuge  in  your  merit.  Think  over 
what  your  servant  has  said,  but  do  not  divulge  it."  The 
king  replied :  "  Very  well,  it  shall  be  as  you  say.''  Then  the 
minister  called  together  the  able  generals  aiul  e({uipped  a 
force  of  the  four  arms.  Wherever  the  king  turned,  all  men 
bowed  before  him  like  herbage  under  hail.  The  peoples  of 
three  regions  came  in  to  make  their  submission ;  under  the 

ralr,  according  to  the  Sdsfra  Chin-  as  it  now  stands,  proves  clearly  that 

ffola  keregl('(/chi,  and  in  the  kingdom  the  council  met  in  Kashmir.    Hiuen 

of  Gatchiin   Kunasana,   according  Tsang,  when  describing  his  visit  to 

to   the   history  of  Sanang   Setsen  Jalandhar  i^Beal,  i,  17.5;  Watters, 

(Klaproth,   in    Laidlay's    Fa-hhui,  i,   29*3),   makes  no  allusion  to  the 

p.  249).  council.      The   fact    that  in    some 

The  Tibetan  Kah-gyur  represents  books  Kanishka  is  called  the  king 

the  work  of  the  council  as  being  of  Jalandhar  may  have  given  rise  to 

the  third  compilation  of  the  doctrine  the  belief  that  the  council  met  at 

of  Buddha  (CsomaKordsi,  ^si?^'s.,  that  city.     The  council,  according 

vol.  XX,  quoted  in  Eastern  Mona-  to  Taranath,  settled  the  strife  be- 

chiam,  p.  188).     Wassiljew  (Schief-  tween  the  eighteen  schools,  which 

ner,    p.    298)    observes    that    the  were  all   recognized  as  orthodox ; 

Bu-ston    refuses    to    acknowledge  and   the    three  piiakas   were   nov/ 

Kanishka's  council ;  that  the  Tan-  either   for  the   first   time   reduced 

gyur  describes  the  council  in  40()  to  writing,  or,  so  far  as  previously 

a?inoi??t(/(^/tae  (one  of  the  traditional  written,  were  purified  from  error, 

dates  of  Kanishka),  as  having  been  All  kinds  of  Mahayana  texts  ap- 

led  by  Vatsiputra,  and  devoted  to  peared  about  this  time  (Schiefner, 

the  doctrines  of  his  school ;  while  a  p.  ,58). 

Chinese  account  locates  the  assem-  For  criticism  of  the  legends  of 

bly  at  Kandahar  (?  Gandhara).  the  earlier  councils  see  the  author's 

Taranath  notes  that  some  authors  paper,   'The  Identity  of  Piyadasi 

aver  that  the  council   met  in  the  with    Asoka    Maurya,    and    some 

Kundalavana  Vihara   in  Kashmir,  connected  Problems'  (J.  li.  A.  S., 

while  others  locate  it  in  the  Kuvana  Oct.,  1901).     For  the  meaning  of 

monastery  at  Jalandhar  ;  observing  Kundttia  in  Kashmiri  local  names, 

that  the  balance  of  authority  favours  see  Stein,  transl.  ROjatar.,  Bk.  v, 

the  latter  view.     But  the  evidence,  v.  106. 


270  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

hoofs  of  the  horse  ridden  hy  king  Kanishka  everything  either 
bent  or  l)roke.  The  king  said :  "  I  have  subjugated  three 
regions ;  all  men  have  taken  refuge  witli  me ;  the  region  of 
the  north  alone  has  not  come  in  to  make  its  submission. 
If  I  subjugate  it,  I  shall  never  again  take  advantage  of  an 
opportunity  against  anj^  one,  be  he  who  he  may,  but  I  do 
not  yet  know  the  best  way  to  succeed  in  this  undertaking/^ 
The  king's  people,  having  heard  these  words,  took  counsel 
together,  and  said :  "  The  king  is  greedy,  cruel,  and  un- 
reasonable ;  his  campaigns  and  continued  conquests  have 
wearied  the  mass  of  his  servants.  He  knows  not  how  to  be 
content,  but  wants  to  reign  over  the  four  quarters.  The 
garrisons  are  stationed  on  distant  frontiers,  and  our  relatives 
are  far  from  us.  Such  being  the  situation,  we  must  agree 
among  ourselves,  and  get  rid  of  him.  After  that  we  may  be 
happy."  As  he  was  ill,  they  covered  him  with  a  quilt,  a 
man  sat  on  top  of  him,  and  the  king  died  on  the  spot.'  ^ 

The  reign  of  Kanishka  appears  to  have  lasted  some  forty- 
five  years,  and  may  be  assumed  to  have  terminated  about 
A.D.  123. 
Vasishka.  Very  little  is  known  about  the  successors  of  Kanishka. 
Inscriptions  prove  that  Vasishka  was  reigning  at  Mathura  in 
the  years  24<  and  28,  and  Huvishka  between  the  years  33  and 
60,  while  Kanishka  was  reigning  at  the  same  place  in  the 
year  41.  The  best  way  to  reconcile  the  apparent  contra- 
diction is  to  assume  that  Vasishka  and  Huvishka  were  sons 
of  Kanishka,  who  both  acted  in  succession  as  Viceroys  of 
Upper  India  M'hile  their  father  was  warring  beyond  the 
mountains.  Vasishka,  of  whom  no  coins  are  known,  seems 
to  have  predeceased  his  father,  who  was  succeeded  in  his 
whole  empire  by  Huvishka.^  The  extensive  coinage  of 
Huvishka  may  have  been  all  issued  after  his  succession  to 
the  imperial  throne.  Vasishka,  presumably,  was  not  em- 
powered to  coin  in  his  own  name.  If  he  had  issued  coins,  it 
is  hardly  possible  that  some  specimens  should  not  have  been 
discovered  by  this  time. 

^    Sri-Dharmi-p'daka,    &c.,    in  written   in   several   variant  forms, 

A^o<e«,  p.  4-3 ;  and  an  English  version  including  Hushka  and  Hoveshka, 

in  Ind.  Ant.,  1903,  p.  88H.  due  to  difficulties  in  transliterating 

"^  The    name     of    Huvishka     is  a  foreign  name. 


REIGN  OF  HUVISHKA  271 

The  dominions  oi'  Huvishka  certainly  included  Kfibul,^  Huvishka. 
Kashmir,  and  Mathura,.  At  the  last-named  city,  a  splendid 
Buddhist  monastery  bore  his  name,  and  no  doubt  owed  its 
existence  to  his  munificence;^  for,  like  Kanishka,  he  was 
a  liberal  patron  of  Buddhist  ecclesiastical  institutions.  He 
also  resembled  his  more  famous  predecessor  in  an  eclectic 
taste  for  a  strange  medley  of  Greek,  Indian,  and  Persian 
deities.  The  types  on  the  coins  of  Huvishka  include  Hera- 
kles,  Sarapis  C^  Sarapo'),  Skanda  with  his  son  Visakha,  Pharro, 
the  fire-god,  and  many  others,  but  the  figure  and  name  of 
Buddha  are  wanting.  It  would  seem  that  the  Buddhist  convic- 
tions of  these  old  Scythian  kings  were  not  very  deeply  seated, 
and  it  is  probably  justifiable  to  hold  that  the  royal  favour 
was  granted  to  the  powerful  monastic  organization  of  the 
Buddhists  as  much  as  to  their  creed.  No  prudent  monarch  in 
those  days  could  afford  to  neglect  the  wealthy  and  influential 
order,  which  had  spread  its  ramifications  all  over  the  empire. 

The  town  of  Hushkapura,  founded  by  Huvishka  in  Kash-  Hushka- 
mir,  occupied  a  position  of  exceptional  importance  just  inside 
the  Baramula  Pass,  then  known  as  the  *  western  gate'  of  the 
valley,  and  continued  for  centuries  to  be  a  place  of  note. 
When  Hiuen  Tsang  visited  Kashmir  about  a.d.  631,  he 
enjoyed  the  liberal  hospitality  of  the  Hushkapura  monastery 
for  several  days,  and  was  escorted  thence  with  all  honour  to 
the  capital,  where  he  found  numerous  religious  institutions, 
attended  by  some  five  thousand  monks.  The  town  of 
Hushkapura  is  now  represented  by  the  small  village  of 
Ushkiir,  at  which  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  stupa  are  visible.^ 

The  reign  of   Huvishka  undoubtedly  was  prolonged,  but  Length 
„  p  .  1-  .      1  1-11        tt"        1  of  reign. 

all  memory  oi  its  political  events  has  perished.  His  abun- 
dant coinage  is  even  more  varied  than  that  of  Kanishka, 
with  which  it  is  constantly  associated,  and,  like  the  con- 
temporary sculpture,  testifies  to  the  continuance  of  Hellenistic 

*  Inscription  of  the  year  51  on  a  pp.  1060-3, and £';)./nfZ.,xi, pp. 202- 

brass    vase    obtained    by    Masson  19)  supersede  earlier  publications, 

from  one  of  the  Khawat  stnpas  in  ^  Cunningham, ^re/j.  AVyj.,  i,  238. 

the  Wardak  District,  about  30  miles  ^  Stein,  Rajatar.,  transl.  Bk.  i, 

marching  distance  SW.  from  Ka-  v.  168  ;  vol.  ii,  p.  438  ;  Beal,  Life  of 

bul.     The  edition   and  translation  Hiuen  Tsianq,  p.  68. 
by  Mr.  Pargiter  (./.  R.  A.  S.,  1919, 


27S  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

influence.  A  few  specimens  of  the  gold  coinage  present 
well  executed  and  characteristic  portraits  of  the  king,  who 
was  a  determined-looking  man,  with  strongly-marked  features, 
large,  deep-set  eyes,  and  aquiline  nose.^  So  far  as  appears, 
the  Kushan  power  suffered  no  diminution  during  his  reign, 
which  may  be  assumed  to  have  ended  in  or  about  a.  d.  140. 
Reign  of  Huvishka  was  succeeded  by  Vasudeva  I,  whose  thoroughly 
deva  I,  Indian  name,  a  synonym  for  Vishnu,  is  a  proof  of  the 
^^•"•^*^'^~  rapidity  with  which  the  foreign  invaders  had  succumbed  to 
the  influence  of  their  environment.  Testimony  to  the  same 
fact  is  borne  by  his  coins,  almost  all  of  which  exhibit  on  the 
reverse  the  figure  of  the  Indian  god  Siva,  attended  by  his 
bull  Nandi,  and  accompanied  by  the  noose,  trident,  and 
other  insignia  of  Hindu  iconography.  The  inscriptions  of 
\"asudeva  I,  mostly  found  at  Mathura,  certainly  range  in  date 
from  the  year  74  to  the  year  98  of  the  era  used  in  the  Kushan 
age,  and  indicate  a  reign  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  years. 
We  may  assume  that  his  reign  terminated  in  the  year  100, 
equivalent,  according  to  the  chronology  now  tentatively 
adopted,  to  a,  d.  178. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Kushan  power  must  have  been 
decadent  during  the  latter  part  of  the  long  reign  of  Vasu- 
deva I,  and  apparently  before  its  close,  or  immediately  after 
that  event,  the  vast  empire  of  Kanishka  obeyed  the  usual 
law  governing  Oriental  monarchies,  and  broke  up  into  frag- 
ments, having  enjoyed  a  brief  period  of  splendid  unity. 
Coins  bearing  the  name  of  Vasudeva  continued  to  be  struck 
long  after  he  had  passed  away,  and  ultimately  present  the 
royal  figure  clad  in  the  garb  of  Persia,  and  manifestly 
imitated  from  the  effigy  of  Sapor  (Shahpur)  I,  the  Sassanian 
monarch  who  ruled  Persia  from  a.d.  238  to  269.- 

It  seems  reasonable  to  believe  that  the  dec.iy  of  the  Indo- 

1  Gardner,    B.   M.    C'atal.    Greek  holds  that  the  successors  of  Vasu- 

ancl  Indo-Sn/thic  KijiffS,  \)\.  xxvVi,  9,  deva  I  were  Kanishka  II  (Kanesh- 

xxviii,  9  ;  V.  A.  Smith,  C'a/.al.  Coin.i  ko),  Vasudeva  II,  and  Vasu[deva] 

/.  3/.,  vol.  i,  pi.  xii ;  and  ante,  plate  III,  basing  his  oi)inion  on  his  inter- 

of  Indian  Coins  and  Medals  II.  pretationof  the  obscure  numismatic 

*  Von  Sallet,  Nachfoh/er,  p.  63.  evidence  ('  Notes  on  Indo-Scythian 

Catal.    of   Coins  in  I.   JA,  vol.   i.  Coinage', /.  4' iVoc.  y/.  *S'.  7i.,  1908, 

pp.    fi3-93.      Mr.    R.    D.    Eanerji  p.  SI). 


SASSANIAN  INFLUENCE  273 

« 
Scythian  monarchy  must  have  been  hastened  by  the  terrible 
plague  of  A.D.  167,  which  started  in  Babylonia,  and  deso- 
lated the  Roman  and  Parthian  empires  for  several  years.  At 
Rome,  as  well  as  throughout  Italy  and  the  provinces,  the 
greater  part  of  the  inhabitants,  and  nearly  all  the  troops, 
sank  under  the  disease.  Niebuhr  expressed  the  opinion  that 
*the  ancient  world  never  recovered  from  the  blow  inflicted 
upon  it  by  the  plague  Avhich  visited  it  in  the  reign  of 
M.  Aurelius  \     It  is  not  likely  that  India  can  have  escaped.^ 

Absolutely  nothing  positive  is  known  concerning  the  means  Sassanian 

by  which  the  renewed  Persian  influence,  as  proved  by  numis-  '"^"^"^^ 
•'     ,  ^        A  •'  on  India. 

matic  facts,  made  itself  felt  in  the  interior  of  India.  Bahram 
(Varahran)  II  is  known  to  have  conducted  a  campaign  in 
Sistan,  at  some  time  between  277  and  294 ;  but  tliere  is  no 
record  of  any  Sassanian  invasion  of  India  in  the  third  century, 
during  which  period  all  the  ordinary  sources  of  historical 
information  dry  up.  No  inscriptions  certainly  referable  to 
that  time  have  been  discovered,  and  the  coinage,  issued  by 
merely  local  rulers,  gives  hardly  any  help.  Certain  it  is 
that  two  great  paramount  dynasties,  the  Kushan  in  Northern 
India,  and  the  Andhra  in  the  tableland  of  the  Deccan, 
disappear  together  almost  at  the  moment  (a.d.  226)  when 
the  Arsakidan  dynasty  of  Persia  was  superseded  by  the 
Sassanian.  It  is  impossible  to  avoid  hazarding  the  conjecture 
that  the  three  events  may  have  been  in  some  way  connected, 
and  that  the  persianizing  of  the  Kushan  coinage  of  Northern 
India  should  be  explained  by  the  occurrence  of  an  unrecorded 
Persian  invasion.  But  the  conjecture  is  unsupported  by 
direct  evidence;  and  the  invasion,  if  it  really  took  place, 
would  seem  to  have  been  the  work  of  predatory  tribes  subject 
to  Iranian  influence,  and  probably  from  Sistan,  rather  than 
a  regular  attack  by  a  Persian  king. 

So  muchj  however,  is  clear  that  Vasudeva  I  M'as  the  last  Foreign 
Kushan  king  who  continued  to  hold  extensive  territories  in  ^i^^^sions. 
India.     After  his  death  there  is  no  indication  of  the  existence 

^  Eutropius,    ch.    xii.     Merivale      the  authorities  and  gives  a  vivid  de- 
(Hist.  of  the  Romans  under  the  Em-      scription  of  the  disaster. 
pire,vm,'pp.  333, 358, ch.  Ixviii) cites 


27t  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

of  a  paramount  power  in  Northern  India.  Probably  numerous 
Rajas  asserted  their  independence  and  formed  a  number  of 
short-lived  states,  such  as  commonly  arise  from  the  ruins 
of  a  great  oriental  monarchy ;  but  historical  material  for 
the  third  centurj'  is  so  completely  lacking  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  what  or  how  many  those  states  were.  The 
period  evidently  was  one  of  extreme  confusion  associated  with 
foreign  invasions  from  the  north-west,  which  is  reflected  in 
the  muddled  statements  of  the  Puranas  concerning  the 
Abhiras,  Gardabhilas,  Sakas,  Yavanas,  Bahllkas,  and  other 
outlandish  dynasties  named  as  the  successors  of  the  Andhras. 
The  dynasties  thus  enumerated  clearly  were  to  a  large  extent 
contemporary  with  one  another,  not  consecutive,  and  none  of 
them  could  claim  paramount  rank.  It  seems  to  be  quite 
hopeless  to  attempt  to  reduce  to  order  the  Puranic  accounts 
of  this  anarchical  period,  and  nothing  would  be  gained  by 
quoting  a  long  list  of  names,  the  very  forms  of  which  are 
uncertain. 
Kushan  Coins   indicate  that  the   Kushans   held  their  own  in  the 

Kabul  and  P'^"j^b  and  Kabul  for  a  long  time.     It  is  certain  that  the 
Panjab.      Kushan  kings  of  Kabul  continued  to  be  a  considerable  power 
until  the  fifth  century,  when  they  were  overthrown  by  the 
White  Huns.     At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  one 
of  them  gave  a  daughter  in  marriage  to  Hormazd  II,  the 
Sassanian    king   of   Persia;    and   when    Sapor   II    besieged 
Amida  in  a.  d,  360,  his  victory  over  the  Roman  garrison  was 
won  with  the  aid  of  Indian  elephants  and   Kushan   troops 
under  the   command   of   their    aged   king   Grumbates,   who 
occupied  the   place   of   lionour,   and   was   supported   by  the 
Sakas  of  Sistan.^ 
Subordi-         It  is   difficult  to  judge   how   far  the   foreign    chiefs  who 
cliisfs.        I'uled  tlie  Panjab  during  the  third  century,  and  struck  coins 
similar  to  those  of  Yasudeva  I,  yet  with  a  difference,  were 

'  Cunningham,  iMtm.C'Ayo/(. ,1893,  1896,  p.  1()3.    Gibbon  , oh.  xix)give3 

pp.  H)9-77,  who  seems  to  be  right  a.]).  'MW  as  the  date  of  the  siege  of 

in    identifying     the    Chionitai    of  Amida  on  the  Tigris,  the  modern 

Ammianus    Marc-ellinus    with    the  Diarbckir.   Other  authorities  prefer 

Kushans  ;    Drouin,  '  Monnaies  des  358  or  359. 
Grands  Kouchans,'  in  Rev.  Num., 


BLANK  IN  HISTORY  275 

Kushaiis,  and  how  fur  they  belonged  to  other  Asiatic  tribes. 
The  marginal  legends  of  the  coins  of  this  class,  which 
are  written  in  a  modified  Greek  script,  preserve  the 
name  of  either  Kanishka  or  yasu[deva]  Kushan,^  King  of 
Kings,  and  so  recognize  the  Kushan  supremacy ;  but  the 
name  in  Indian  letters,  placed  by  the  side  of  the  spear,  is 
frequently  monosyllabic,  like  a  Chinese  name^  Bha,  Ga,  Vi, 
and  so  forth.  These  monosyllabic  names  seem  to  belong  to 
chiefs  of  various  Central  Asian  tribes  who  invaded  India  and 
acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Kushan  or  Shahi  kings 
of  Kabul.  One  coin  with  the  modified  Kushan  obverse,  and 
the  names  Pdsana,  Nu,  Shilada  in  Indian  Brahml  characters 
in  various  parts  of  the  field,  has  on  the  reverse  a  fire-altar  of 
the  type  found  on  the  coins  of  the  earliest  Sassanian  kings. 
It  is  thus  clear  that  in  some  way  or  other,  during  the  third 
century,  the  Panjab  renewed  its  ancient  connexion  with 
Persia.^  It  is  also  certain  that  the  later  coinage  of  the 
Kushans  is  clearly  connected  with  that  of  the  Sassanians, 
a  fact  which  to  my  mind  is  fatal  to  theories  which  antedate 
Kanishka  and  his  successors. 

Nothing  definite  is  recorded  concerning  the  dynasties  of  Blank  in 
Northern    India,    excluding   the    Panjab,    during   the   third  i,Jterior° 
century,  and   the   early  part  of  the  fourth.     The    imperial  India. 
city  of  Pataliputra  is  known  to  have  continued  to  be  a  place 
of  importance  as  late  as  the  fifth  century,  but  there  is  little 
indication   of  the   nature  of  the  dynasty  which  ruled  there 
during    the    third.     The  high   importance   attached  by    the 
founder  of  the  Gupta  era  in  a.d.  320  to  his  alliance  with 
a  Lichchhavi  princess  suggests  that  during  the  third  century 
Pataliputra  may  have  been  held  by  the  non-Aryan  Lichchhavis 
of  Vaisali,  who  appear  to  have  been  closely  related  to  the 
Tibetans.     The  only  intelligible  dynastic  list  for  the  period 
is  that  of  the  Saka  satraps  of  Western  India,  whose  history 

^  The  coins  usually  have   Vasu,  those  of  some   of  his   successors, 

not  Vusii.  See  V.  A.  Smith,   Catal.  of  Cohm 

^  M.  Drouin  {Rev.  Num.,  189H,  in  I.  il/.,voi.  I   ,1906),  pp.  88,  S9 ; 

p.  140)  points  out  that  the  form  of  and  Banerji's  corrections  in  'Notes 

the  altar  is  that  found  on  the  coins  on   Indo-Scythian   Coinage'   («/.  <S" 

of  Ardashir,   the    first    Sassanian  /Voc-.  yi.  ^'. -B.,  1908,  p.  90). 
king  (2^5  or  236-41),  as  well  as  on 

T  2 


276  THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 

will  hv  more  conveniently  noticed  in  the  next  chapter  in 
connexion  with  that  of  the  Gupta  emperors.  The  period 
between  the  extinction  of  the  Kushan  and  Andhra  dynasties^ 
about  A.  D.  220  or  ^30,  and  the  rise  of  the  imperial  Gupta 
dynasty,  nearly  a  century  later,  is  one  of  the  darkest  in  the 
whole  range  of  Indian  history. 


277 


APPROXIMATE   KUSHAN   CHRONOLOGY 


H.  C. 

174. 
c.  16,> 

c.  163 

160 

c.  160-.j() 

e.  I.W-IM) 

c.  liO 

r,  138 

c.  135 

c,  1-35 

c.  122 
c.  114 

r.  100 

c.  95 

58 
c.  26 


14 

c.  15 


c.  15-30 


23 

38 

41 

c.  45 


c.  45-70 

54 

c.  64 

68,69 

70 

73-103 


Death  of  Hiung-nu  chief,  Moduk. 

Expulsion  of  main  body  of  Yueli-chi  horde  from  Kan-siili  by 

the  Hiiiufi-nu, 
Nan-tiu-mi,  cliief  of  the  Wu-sun,  killed  by  the  Yueh-chi. 
Death  of  Hiung-nu  chief,  Ki^yiik. 

Yueh-chi  occupation  of  the  Saka  territory  ;  Saka  migration, 
Saka  invasion  of  India. 
Expulsion  of  Yueh-chi   from   Saka  territory   by   Koen-muo, 

the  young  Wu-sim  chief,  son  of  Nan-tiu-mi. 
Reduction  of  the  Ta-hia,  both  north  and  south  of  the  Oxus, 

to  vassalage  by  the  Yueh-chi,  who  begin  to  settle  down. 
Dispatch  by  Chinese  emperor  Wu-ti  of  Chang-k'ien  as  envoy 

to  the  Yueh-chi. 
Arrival  of  Chang-k'ien  at  Yueh-chi   head-quarters,  north  of 

the  Oxus. 
Return  of  Chang-k'ien  to  China. 
Death  of  Chang-k'ien. 
Extension  of  Yueh-chi  settlements  to  the  lands  south  of  the 

Oxus  ;   occupation  of  Ta-hia  capital,  Lan-sheu,  south  of  the 

river,  probably  =  Balkh. 
Formation  of  Ave  Yueh-chi  principalities,  including  Kushau 

and  Bamian. 
Epoch  of  the  Malava  or  Vikrama  era. 
Indian  embassy  to  Augustus. 
A  Chinese  official  instructed  in  Buddhist  books  by  a  Yueh-chi 

king.     {See  Franke,  Tiirkvolker,  p.  93  n.) 
Temporary  cessation  of  intercourse  between  China  and   the 

West. 
Augustus,  Roman  emperor,  died;  Tiberius  ace. 
Kadphises  I  Kushan    Kieu-tsieu-ki'o,  Kozolakadaphes,  &c.) 

ace. 
Consolidation  of  the  five  Yueh-chi  principalities  into  one  Kushan 

kingdom  under  Kadphises  I ;   conquest  by  him   of  Kao-fu 

(Kabul),  Ki-pin  (  ?  Kashmir  or  Kapisa),  and  Pota  (?  Bactria, 

or  more   probably   Arachosia) ;    Hermaios,  Greek  king  of 

Kabul,  &c.  contemporary. 
End  of  First,  or  Early  Han  dynasty  of  China. 
Gaius  (Caligula),  Roman  emperor,  ace. 
Claudius,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 
Kadphises  I  died,  aged  80  ;  KadpMses  II  Kushan  (Yen-kao- 

ching,  Wima  Kadphises,&c.),  his  son,  ace.  ;  the  subordinate 

'Nameless  King'  {Soter  llegus)  contemporary. 
Destruction  of  Indo-Parthian  power,  and  gradual  conquest  of 

Northern  India  by  Kadphises  II. 
Nero,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Buddhist  books  sent  for  by  Chinese  emperor,  Ming-ti. 
Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius,  Roman  emperors. 
Vespasian,  Roman  emperor  (ace.  Dec.  32,  69). 
Victorious    career    of    Pan-chao,    the    Chinese    general,    in 

Khotan,  &c. 

1  Compare  Appendix  J,  ante,  p.  215. 


278 


THE  KUSHAN  DYNASTY 


78 

79 

81 

c.  90 

94 

96 

98 

99 

e.  100 

r.  103 

IOj 

116 

117 

c.  123 

123-6 

131-6 

138 

r.  140 

r.  150 
161 

162-5 
175 

r.  178 
c.  178-226 
180 

192, 193 
193 

c.  200 
211 
216 
217 
218 
222 
226 


2C0 

273 

284-305 

360 


Publication  of  Pliny's  Nqtmrd  Histo-y. 

Epoch  of  the  6aka  or  Salivahana  era ;  Kadphises  II  died ; 
Kanishka  Kushan  ace. 

Titus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Domitian,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Defeat  of  Kanishka  by  Pan-chao. 

Reduction  of  Kucha  and  Kara-shahr  by  the  Chinese  under 
Pan-chao. 

Nerva,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Trajan,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Arrival  of  Trajan  in  Rome. 

Indian  embassy  to  Trajan  ;  Buddhist  Council. 

Kanishka's  conquests  in  Chinese  Turkestan.^ 

Overthrow  by  the  Romans  of  the  Nabataean  kingdom  of 
Petra  in  Arabia ;   rise  of  Palmyra. 

Conquest  of  Mesopotamia  by  Trajan. 

Hadrian,  Roman  emperor,  ace.  ;  retrocession  of  Mesopotamia. 

Death  of  Kanishka ;  Hiivishka  Kushan,  ace.  as  sovereign 
of  whole  empire. 

Residence  of  Hadrian  at  Athens. 

War  of  Hadrian  with  the  Jews. 

Antoninus  Pius,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Vasudeva  T  Kushan  ace. 

Junagarh  inscription  of  Rudradaman,  Western  satrap. 

Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Defeat  of  Parthian  king,  Vologeses  III,  by  the  Romans. 

Eastern  campaign  of  Marcus  Aurelius. 

Death  of  Vasudeva  Kushan. 

Later  Kushan  kings,  Kanishka  II,  &c. 

Conniiodus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Pertinax  and  Julianus,  Roman  emperors. 

Septimius  Severus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Palmyra  created  a  Roman  colony. 

Caracalla,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Parthian  expedition  of  Caracalla. 

Macrinus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Elagabalus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Alexander  Severus,  Roman  emperor,  ace. 

Foundation  of  Sassanian  empire  of  Persia  by  Ardashir ;  the 
collapse  of  the  Kushan  power  in  India,  and  the  termina- 
tion of  the  Andhra  dynasty  occurred  at  nearly  the  same 
time. 

Defeat  of  Valerian,  Roman  emperor,  by  Sapor  I. 

Capture  of  Palmyra  by  Aurelian. 

Diocletian,  emperor. 

Successful  siege  of  Amida  by  Sapor  II,  with  Kushan  help. 


1  According  to  Dr.  Franke,  China 
lost  Khotan  in  a.d.  152.  Kanishka 
is  not  mentioned  by  name  in  the 
Chinese  histories. 

Dr.  Franke  {Beitraf/c,  p,  99  n,) 
considers  as  doubtful  the  current 


identification  of  Po-ta  (P'u-ta,  Can- 
tonese Pok-tiu)  with  Bactria,  and 
suggests  as  the  true  equivalent  the 
'Paktyanland'  {UaKTviKT]  7^),  which 
he  places  to  the  north  of  Arachosia. 
See  ante,  p,  38,  note  1. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE,  AND  THE  WESTERN 

SATRAPS ;  CHANDRA-GUPTA  I  TO 

KUMARAGUPTA  I 

From  a.  d.  320  to  455. 

In  the  fourth  century  light  again  dawns,  the  veil  of  Origin 
oblivion  is  lifted,  and  the  history  of  India  regains  unity  and  Gupta 
interest.  dynasty. 

A  local  Raja  at  or  near  Pataliputra,  bearing  the  famous  a.  "•  308. 
name  of  Chandra-gupta,^  wedded,  in  or  about  the  year  308, 
a  princess  named  Kinnara  Devi,  who  belonged  to  the  ancient 
Lichchhavi  clan,  celebrated  ages  before  in  the  early  annals 
of  Buddhism.  During  the  long  period  of  about  eight 
centuries  which  intervened  between  the  reign  of  Ajatasatru 
and  the  marriage  of  Kumara  Devi  the  history  of  the  Lich- 
chhavis  has  been  lost  for  the  most  part,  although  they  are 
known  to  have  established  a  dynasty  in  Nepal,  which  used 
an  era  believed  to  run  from  a.d.  111.^  They  now  come 
suddenly  into  notice  again  in  connexion  with  this  marriage, 
which  proved  to  be  an  event  of  the  highest  political  impor- 
tance, as  being  the  foundation  of  £he  fortunes  of  a  dynasty 
destined  to  rival  the  glories  of  the  Mauryas.  Kumara  Devi 
evidently  brought  to  her  husband  as  her  dowry  valuable 
influence,  which  in  the  com-se  of  a  few  years  secured  to  him 
a  paramount  position  in  Magadha  and  the  neighbouring 
countries.  It  seems  probable  that  at  the  time  of  this  fateful 
union  the  Lichchhavis  were  masters  of  the  ancient  imperial 
city,  and  that  Chandra-gupta,  by  means  of  his  matrimonial 
alliance,  succeeded  to  the  power  previously  held  by  his  wife's 
relatives.     In  the  olden  days  the  Lichchhavis  of  Vaisali  had 

1  The    names    of  the   Chandra-      spelt  with  a  hyphen,  to  distinguish 
guptas  of  the   Gupta  dynasty  are      them  from  the  Maurya. 

-  Levi,  Le  Nepal,  i,  14;  ii,  153. 


ace. 


280  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

l)eeii  the  rivals  of  the  kings  of  Pataliputra,  and  apparently, 
(luring  the  disturbed  times  which  followed  the  reign  of 
Pushyamitra,  they  paid  off  old  scores  by  taking  possession  of 
the  city,  -which  had  been  built  and  fortified  many  centuries 
earlier  for  the  express  purpose  of  curbing  their  restless  spirit. 
A.n.  3-20.  Certain  it  is  that  Chandra-gupta  was  raised  by  his  Lich- 
chhavi        chhavi  connexion  from  the  rank  of  a  local  chief,  as  enjoyed 

alliance  ;    j^y  j^jg  father  and  ijrandfather,^  to  such  dignity  that  he  felt 
Chandra-     ...  .  .  . 

giipta  I.  justified  in  assuming  the  lofty  title  of  ^Sovereign  of  Maha- 
rajas', usually  associated  with  a  claim  to  the  rank  of  lord 
paramount.  He  struck  coins  in  the  joint  names  of  himself, 
his  (jueen,  and  the  Lichchhavis  ;  and  his  son  and  successor 
habitually  described  himself  with  pride  as  the  son  of  the 
daughter  of  the  Lichchhavis.  Chandra-gupta,  designated  as 
the  First,  to  distinguish  him  from  his  grandson  of  the  same 
name,  extended  his  dominion  along  the  Gangetic  valley  as 
far  as  the  junction  of  the  Ganges  and  Jumna,  where  Allah- 
abad now  stands;  and  ruled  during  his  brief  tenure  of  the 
throne  a  populous  and  fertile  territory,  which  included 
Tirhiit,  South  Bihar,  Oudh,  and  certain  adjoining  districts. 
His  political  importance  was  sufficient  to  warrant  him  in 
establishing,  after  the  Oriental  manner,  a  new  era  dating  from 
his  formal  consecration  or  coronation,  when  he  was  pro- 
claimed as  heir  to  the  imperial  power  associated  by  venerable 
tradition  with  the  possession  of  Pataliputra.  The  first  year 
of  the  Gupta  era,  which  continued  in  use  for  several  centuries, 
and  in  countries  widely  separated,  ran  from  February  26, 
A.D.  320,  to  March  13,  321  ;  of  which  dates  the  former  may 
be  taken  as  that  of  the  coronation  of  Chandra-gupta  I.^ 

^  His  father  was  named  Ghatot-  '  Revised  Chronology  of  the  Early 

kacha,  and  his  grandfather  simply  or  Imperial  Gupta  Dynasty'  (Jnd. 

Gupta.    A  seal  of  Ghatotkacha  has  yhif.,  1902,  p.  257),  which  modifies 

been  excavated  at  Basarh  (Vaisali)  the  scheme  as  given  in  his  numis- 

(A.  S.  Ann.  Ihp.,  1903  4,  p.   107,  matic   works,    but    requires    some 

PI.     xli,     14).      Buddhist     legend  correction.    Dates  expressed  in  the 

offers  another  instance  of  the  par-  Gupta  era  (g.  k.)  may  be  converted 

ticiple   Gupta  alone   serving  as   a  approximately  into  dates  a.  n.  by  the 

propernanieinthecaseof  Upagupta  addition   of  319;    e.g.    H2   g.  e.  = 

(Gupta  the  Less;,  son  of  Gupta  the  a.  n.    101.     For  Gupta  inscriptions 

perfumer.  as  known  in  188H,  see  Fleet,  (hipta 

^  For    the    chronology     of    the  Juscriji/ious  Corjius/nscr.  Ind., vol. 

dynasty    see    the    author's   paj)er,  iii\       The     priiicij)al     discoveries 


SAMUDRAGUPTA 


281 


Before  his  death,  which  occurred  perhaps  ahout  ten  orA.o.  f»)or 
fifteen  years  hiter,  Chaiuh-a-i^upta  sek'cted  as  his  successor  tlic  i,^'^'^l^^^_ 
Crown   Prince,  Samudragupta,  his  son   hy  the   Lichchhavi  Jragupta, 
princess.^     The  paternal  preference  was  abundantly  justified 
by  the  young  king,  who  displayed  a  degree  of  skill  in  the 
arts  of  both  peace  and  war  which  entitles  him  to  iiigh  rank 
among  tlie  most  illustrious  sovereigns  of  India. 

From  the  moment  of  his  accession,  Samudragupta  assumed  His 
the  part  of  an  aggressively  ambitious  monarch,  resolved  to  sp^^^^"^'^^ 
increase  his  dominions  at  the  expense  of  his  neighbours. 
Wars  of  aggression  never  have  been  condemned  by  such 
public  opinion  as  exists  in  the  East,  and  no  king  who  cared 
for  his  reputation  could  venture  to  rest  contented  within  his 
own  borders.  Samudragupta  had  no  hesitation  in  acting  on 
the  principle  that  '  kingdom-taking '  is  the  business  of  kings, 
and  immediately  after  his  succession  to  the  throne  plunged 
into  war,  which  occupied  many  years  of  his  unusually  pro- 


tracted reign.^ 

since  the  publication  of  that  work 
are:  (1)  Bhitar!  seal  of  Kumara- 
gupta  II,  not  dated  (ed.  V.  A.  Smith 
and  Hoernle,  J.A.S.B.,  vol.  Iviii, 
part  i,  1889) ;  (2)  Basarh  seals  of 
Ghatotkachagupta  and  queen  of 
Chandra-guptall  {Arch.  S.  Annual 
Rep.,  1903  4,  pp.  101-22,  Pis.  xl- 
xHi);_  (3)  Bharadi  Dih  inscr.  of 
Kumaragupta  I,  dated  117  g.  e. 
(A.  S.  Pro(/r.  Rep.  of  N.  Circle, 
1907-8,  p.  39;  ed.  in  /.  A.  S.  B., 
vol.  V,  N.  S.  (1909),  p.  457) ;  (4) 
Dhanaidaha  inscr.  of  same  king, 
dated  113  g.  e.,  the  earliest  known 
copper-plate  grant  (/.  A.  S.  Ji., 
ut  supra,  p.  459);  (5)  a  valuable 
Gupta- Vakataka  grant,  partially 
described  by  Mr.  K.  Pathak  in  Ind. 
Ant.,  1912,  p.  214.  Many  other  in- 
scriptions dated  in  the  Gupta  era, 
but  not  giving  the  names  of  kings, 
have  been  discovered,  including  at 
least  two  in  Burma  {A.  S.  Prog): 
Rep.,  Burma,  1894,  pp.  15,  20). 

1  Fleet,  J.R.A.S.,  1909,  p.  342. 
A  few  rare  coins  issued  by  Kacha 
or  Kacha  exist  which  closely  re- 
semble the  issues  of  Samudragupta 
in  certain  respects.  Some  authors 
suppose   Kacha   or   Kacha    to    be 


identical  with  Samudragupta,  bit 
the  better  opinion  regards  him  as 
a  rival  brother  of  that  king.  His 
reign,  if  a  reality,  must  have  been 
very  brief,  probably  not  exceeding 
a  few  months.  Nothing  whatever 
being  known  about  him  except  that 
ne  coined  some  gold  pieces,  Samu- 
dragupta may  be  regarded  for  all 
practical  purposes  as  the  immediate 
successor  of  his  father.  His  selec- 
tion is  vividly  described  in  the 
Allahabad  inscription  :  '  "  Here  is 
a  noble  man  !  "  With  these  words 
the  father  embraced  him,  with 
shivers  of  joy  that  spoke  of  his 
affection,  and  looked  at  him,  with 
eyes  hea\'y  with  tears  and  over- 
come with  love — the  courtiers 
breathing  freely  with  joy  and  the 
kinsmen  of  equal  grade  look- 
ing up  with  sad  faces — and  said 
to  him  :  "  Protect  then  this  whole 
earth"'  (Biihler,  as  transl.  in  Ind. 
Ant.,  1913,  p.  176). 

"^  Authorities  and  details  are  fully 
discussed  in  the  author's  paper, 
'  The  Conquests  of  Samudra  Gupta' 
(/.  R.  A.  S.,  1897,  p.  859).  A  few 
corrections  have  been  made  neces- 
sary by  subsequent  research. 


28S  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

Epigra-  When  his  fighting  days  were  over  he  employed  a  learned 

record.  poet,  skilled  in  the  technicalities  of  Sanskrit  verse,  to  com- 
pose a  panegyric  of  his  achievements,  which  he  caused  to  be 
engraved  on  one  of  the  stone  pillars  set  up  six  centuries  before 
by  Asoka  and  incised  with  his  edicts.^  Samudragupta,  an 
orthodox  Hindu,  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Brahmans, 
and  an  ambitious  soldier  full  of  the  joy  of  battle,  although  he 
had  been  interested  as  a  young  man,  at  his  father's  bidding, 
in  the  doctrine  of  Vasubandha,  the  Buddhist  sage,  made  no 
scruple  about  setting  liis  own  ruthless  boasts  of  sanguinary 
Avars  by  the  side  of  the  quietest  moralizings  of  him  who 
deemed  '  the  chiefest  conquest '  to  be  the  conquest  of  piety. 

Samudragupta's  anxiety  to  provide  for  the  remembrance 
of  his  deeds  was  not  in  vain.  The  record  composed  by  his 
poet-laureate  survives  to  this  day  practically  complete,  and 
furnishes  a  detailed  contemporary  account  of  the  events  of 
the  reign,  probably  superior  to  anything  else  of  the  kind  in 
the  multitude  of  Indian  inscriptions.  Although,  unfortu- 
nately, the  document  is  not  dated,  it  may  be  assigned  with 
approximate  accuracy  to  the  year  a.  d.  360,  or  a  little  later, 
and  is  thus,  apart  from  its  value  as  history,  of  great  interest 
as  an  important  Sanskrit  composition,  partly  in  verse  and 
partly  in  prose,  of  ascertained  age  and  origin.  The  value  as 
dated  literature  of  the  great  historical  inscriptions,  although 
emphasized  by  Biihler  many  years  ago,  is  still,  perhaps,  not 
fully  recognized  by  scholars  who  occupy  themselves  primarily 
with  the  books  preserved  in  libraries.^  But  our  concern  at 
present  in  the  elaborate  composition  of  Harishena  is  with 
its  contents  as  an  historical  document,  rather  than  with  its 
place  in  the  evolution  of  Sanskrit,  and  the  exposition  of  its 
importance  as  a  linguistic  and  literary  landmark  must  be  left 
to  specialists. 
'^.  Tlie  author  of  the  panegyric  classifies  his  lord's  campaigns 

'  The   inscription  is  not  posthu-  Indian  Inscriptions  and  the  Anti- 

moiis  (Biihler,  in  J.  li.  A.  »S'.,  1898,  quity  of  Indian  Artificial  Poetry', 

p.  386).     The  pillar  stands  in  the  published  in  a  German   periodical 

fort  at  Allahabad,  but  not   in   its  about  1889,  has  been  rendered  ac- 

original  position.  cessible    by    Prof.    V.    S.    Ghate's 

^  Buhler's  important  essay,  'The  English  version  in  Ind.  Ant,,  1913. 


CAMPAIGNS  283 

ffeosrraphicallv  under  four  heads :   as  those  directed  against  tam- 

11-  P     ,  ,  .  ,  ,  •  ,.    r  paigns. 

eleven  kmgs  oi  the  south ;    nuie  named  knigs  or  Aryavarta, 

or  the  Gangetic  plain,  besides  many  others  not  specified  ;  the 
chiefs  of  the  wild  forest  tribes ;  and  the  rulers  of  the  frontier 
kingdoms  and  republics.  He  also  explains  Samudragupta's 
relation  with  certain  foreign  po^\ers,  too  remote  to  come 
within  the  power  of  his  arm.  Although  it  is  at  present 
impossible  to  identify  every  one  of  the  countries,  kings,  and 
peoples  enumerated  by  the  poet,  and  sundry  matters  of  detail 
remain  to  be  cleared  up  by  future  discovery  and  investiga- 
tion, enough  is  known  to  enable  the  historian  to  form  a  clear 
idea  of  the  extent  of  the  dominions  and  the  range  of  tlic 
alliances  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  Gupta  emperors.  The 
matter  of  the  record  being  arranged  on  literary  rather  than 
historical  principles,  it  is  not  jjossible  to  narrate  the  events 
of  the  reign  in  strict  chronological  order. 

But  we  may  feel  assured  that  this  Indian  Napoleon  first  Conquest 
turned  his  arms  against  the  poAvers  nearest  him,  and  that  he  grn  India, 
thoroughly  subjugated  the  Rajas  of  the  Gangetic  plain,  the 
wide  region  now  known  as  Hindustan,  before  he  embarked 
on  his  perilous  adventures  in  the  remote  south.  His  treat- 
ment of  the  Rajas  of  the  north  was  drastic ;  for  we  are  told 
that  they  were  ^  forcibly  rooted  up ',  a  process  which  neces- 
sarily involved  the  incorporation  of  their  territories  in  the 
dominions  of  the  victor.  Among  the  nine  names  mentioned, 
only  one  can  be  recognized  with  absolute  certainty,  namely, 
that  of  Ganapati  Naga,  whose  capital  M'as  at  Padmavati  or 
Narwar,  a  famous  city,  which  still  exists,  in  the  territories  of 
the  Maharaja  Sindia. 

The  greater  part  of  these  northern  conquests  must  have 
been  completed,  and  the  subjugated  territories  absorbed, 
before  Samudragupta  ventured  to  undertake  tlie  invasion  of 
the  kingdoms  of  the  south ;  a  task  which  demanded  uncom- 
mon boldness  in  design,  and  masterly  powers  of  organization 
and  execution. 

The  invader,  marching  due  south  from  the  capital,  through  ^^^g^^^jf 
Chutia  Nagpur,  directed  his  first  attack  against  the  kingdom  Kosala 
of  South  Kosala  in  the  valley  of  the  Mahanadi,  and  over-  t^bes. 


284 


THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 


threw  its  king,  Mahendra.^  Passing  on,  he  subdued  all  the 
chiefs  of  the  forest  countries,  which  still  retain  their  ancient 
wildness,  and  constitute  the  tributary  states  of  Orissa  and 
the  more  backward  parts  of  the  Central  Provinces.  The 
principal  of  those  chiefs,  who  bore  the  appropriate  name  of 
Vyaghra  Raja,  or  the  Tiger  King,  is  not  otherwise  known 
to  history.  At  this  stage  of  the  campaign,  the  main  diffi- 
culties must  have  been  those  of  transport  and  supply,  for  the 
ill-armed  forest  tribes  could  not  have  offered  serious  military 
resistance  to  a  well-equipped  army. 
Conquests      Still  advancing  southwards,  by  the  east  coast  road,  Samu- 

in  extreme 

south.         dragupta  vanquished  the  chieftain  who  held  Pishtapura,  the 

ancient  capital  of  Kalinga,  now  Pithapuram  in  the  Godavarl 
district,  as  well  as  the  hill-forts  of  Mahendragiri  and  Kottura 
in  Ganjam ;  King  Mjintaraja,  whose  territory  lay  on  the 
banks  of  the  Kolleru  (Colair)  lake  ;^  the  neighbouring  king 
of  Vengi  between  the  Krishna  and  Godavari  rivers,  presum- 
ably a  Pallava ;  and  Vishnugopa,  the  king  of  Kanchi,  or 
Conjeeveram,  to  the  south-west  of  Madras,  almost  certainly 
a  Pallava.  Then  turning  westwards,  he  subjugated  a  chief- 
tain, named  Ugrasena,  king  of  Palakka,  a  place  perhaps 
situated  in  the  Nellore  District.^ 

He  returned  homewards  through  the  western  parts  of  the 
Deccan,  subduing  on  his  way  the  kingdom  of  Devarashtra, 
or  the  modern  Mahratta  country,  and  Erandapalla,  or 
Khandesh.^ 

This  wonderful  campaign,  which  involved  two  or  three 
thousand  miles  of  marching  through  difficult  country,  must 
have  occupied  about  two  years  at  least,  and  its  conclusion 
may  be  dated  approximately  in  a.  d.  350. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  effect  the  permanent  annexation 
of  these  southern   states;    the  triumphant  victor  admitting 


Return 
through 
Khan- 
desh. 


A.D.  3.j0 

Rich 
spoils  ; 


1  North  Kosala  corresponded 
roughly  with  Oudh,  north  of  the 
Ghagra  river. 

-  For  correct  interpretation  of 
KawCilaka  see  Kielhorn  in  Ep.  hid., 
vol.  vi,  p.  ?,.  Kottura  (Kothoor  of 
Indian  Atlas,  sheet  No.  108)  lies 
twelve  miles  SSE.  from  Mahendra- 


giri. The  proper  rendering  of  the 
passage  was  settled  by  Kielhorn 
and  Fleet,  in  1898.  For  Pishtapura 
see  Fleet,  Ind.  Ant.,  xxx  (1901), 
p.  26. 

^  Ep.  Ind.,  viii,  161. 

*  Fleet,  in  ./.  li.  A.  S.,  1898, 
p.  369. 


iT'VT'trM'T   nv   TT.MPTRF, 


285 


THE     CONQUESTS    OF 

SAMUDRAGUPTA,      A.D.   340 

and  the 

GUPTA  EMPIRE,    A.D. 400 

(travels    of  fa-  hien") 

ScaJe  of  Miles 


85 


EXTENT  OF  EMPIRE  285 

that  he  only  exacted  a  temporary  submission  and  then  with-  parallel  of 
drew.  But  beyond  doubt  he  despoiled  the  rich  treasures  of  Kafur. 
the  south,  and  came  back  laden  with  golden  booty,  like  the 
Muhammadan  adventurer  who  performed  the  same  military 
exploit  nearly  a  thousand  years  later.  Malik  Kafur,  the 
general  of  Ala-ud-din,  Sultan  of  Delhi,  during  operations 
lasting  from  1309  to  1311,  repeated  the  performance  of 
Samudragupta,  and  penetrated  even  farther  south  than  his 
Hindu  predecessor  seems  to  have  done.  Malik  Kafur  occu- 
pied Madura  in  April,  1311,  and  from  that  base  was  able  to 
reach  Ramesvaram,  or  Adam's  Bridge,  where  he  built 
a  mosque,  which  was  still  standing  MJien  Firishta  wrote 
his  history  in  the  sixteenth  century.^ 

The  enumeration  by  the  courtly  panegyrist  of  the  frontier  Tributary 
kingdoms  and  republics  whose  rulers  did  homage  and  paid  g^tgy^'^ 
tribute  to   the  emperor,   a   title   fairly  earned  by  Samudra- 
gupta,  enables  the  historians  to  define  the  boundaries  of  his 
dominions  with  sufficient  accuracy,  and  to  realize  the  nature 
of  the  political  divisions  of  India  in  the  fourth  century. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent  the  tributary  kingdoms 
were  Samatata,  or  the  delta  of  the  Ganges  and  Brahmaputra, 
including  the  site  on  which  Calcutta  now  stands  ;  Kamarupa, 
or  Assam ;  and  Davaka,  which  seems  to  have  corresponded 
with  the  Bogra  (Bagraha),  Dinajpur,  and  Rajshahi  districts 
to  the  north  of  the  Ganges,  lying  between  Samatata  and 
Kamarupa.  Farther  west,  the  mountain  kingdom  of  Nepal, 
then,  as  now,  retained  its  autonomy  under  the  suzerainty  of 
the  paramount  power,  and  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  the 
imperial  government  extended  only  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains. The  kingdom  of  Kartripura  occupied  the  lower  ranges 
of  the  Western  Himalayas,  including  probably  Kumaon, 
Alniora,  Garhwal,  and  Kangra.^ 

'  For  conquest  of  Madura   see  ^  Dr.   Fleet    suggests    that    the 

Elliot,  Hist,    iii,  91.     The   mosque  name    may    survive    in   Kartarpur 

was    repaired   by    Mujahid    Shah  in  the  Jalandhar  district.     Brigade- 

Bahmani  in  a.  d.  1376.     The  doubts  Surgeon  C.  F.  Oldham  refers  to  the 

expressed  by  Mr.  Sewell  {A  For-  Katuria  Raj  of  Kumaon,  Garhwal, 

gotten  Empire,  p.  42)  are  not  well  and  KShilkhand  (J.  li.  A.  S.,  1898, 

founded.  Mr.  Sewell  apparently  did  p.    198).     See  map   of  the   Gupta 

not  remember    the   occupation   of  Empire. 
Madura  in  1311. 


286 


THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 


Tribal 
republics. 


Limits  of 
empire. 


Relations 
with 
foreif^n 
powers. 


The  Panjab,  Eastern  Rajputana,  and  Malvva  for  the  most 
part  were  in  possession  of  tribes  or  chins  living  under  repub- 
lican institutions.  The  Yaudheya  tribe  occupied  both  banks 
of  the  Sutlaj,  while  the  Madrakas  held  the  central  parts  of 
the  Panjab.  The  reader  may  remember  that  in  Alexander's 
time  those  regions  were  similarly  occupied  by  autonomous 
tribes,  then  called  the  Malloi,  Kathaioi,  and  so  forth.  The 
Jumna  probably  formed  the  north-western  frontier  of  the 
Gupta  empire.  The  Arjunayanas,  Malavas,  and  Abhiras 
were  settled  in  Eastern  Rajputana  and  Malwa,  and  in  this 
direction  the  river  Chambal  may  be  regarded  as  the  imperial 
boundary.  The  line  next  turned  in  an  easterly  direction 
along  the  territories  of  minor  nations  whose  position  cannot 
be  exactly  determined,  passing  probably  through  Bhopal, 
until  it  struck  the  Narmada  river,  which  formed  the  southern 
frontier. 

The  dominion  under  the  direct  government  of  Samudra- 
gupta  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  thus  comprised  all 
the  most  populous  and  fertile  countries  of  Northern  India. 
It  extended  from  the  Hooghly  on  the  east  to  the  Junnia  and 
Chambal  on  the  west ;  and  from  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas 
on  the  north  to  the  Narmada  on  the  south. 

Beyond  these  wide  limits,  the  frontier  kingdoms  of  Assam 
and  the  Gangetic  delta,  as  well  as  those  on  the  southern 
slopes  of  the  Himalayas,  and  the  free  tribes  of  Rajputana 
and  Malvva,  were  attached  to  the  empire  by  bonds  of  subordi- 
nate alliance;  while  almost  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  south 
had  been  overrun  by  the  emperor's  armies  and  compelled  to 
acknowledge  his  irresistible  might. 

The  empire  thus  defined  \vas  by  far  the  greatest  that  had 
been  seen  in  India  since  the  days  of  Asoka,  six  centuries 
before,  and  its  possession  naturally  entitled  Samudragupta 
to  the  respect  of  foreign  powers.  We  are  not,  therefore, 
surprised  to  learn  that  he  maintained  diplomatic  relations 
with  the  Kushan  king  of  Gandhara  and  Kabul,  and  the 
greater  sovereign  of  the  same  race  who  ruled  on  the 
banks  of  the  Oxus,  as  well  as  with  Ceylon  and  other  distant 
islands. 


MISSION  FROM  CEYLON  287 

Communication  between  the  king  of  Ceylon  and  Samudra-  Embassies 
gupta  had  been  establislied  accidentally  about  a.  d.  360.  Ceylon. 
Siri  Meghavanna  (Meghavarna),  the  Buddhist  king  of 
Ceylon,  whose  reign  of  twenty-seven  years  is  assigned 
approximately  to  the  period  from  a.d.  352  to  379,  had 
sent  two  monks,  one  of  whom  is  said  to  have  been  his 
brother,  to  do  homage  to  the  Diamond  Throne  and  visit 
the  monastery  built  by  Asoka  to  the  east  of  the  sacred 
tree  at  Bodh  Gaya.  The  strangers,,  perhaps  by  reason  of 
sectarian  rancour,  met  with  scant  hospitality,  and  on  their 
return  to  the  island  complained  to  the  king  that  they 
could  not  find  any  place  in  India  where  they  could  stay 
in  comfort.  King  Meghavarna  recognized  the  justice  of 
the  complaint,  and  resolved  to  remedy  the  grievance  by 
founding  a  monastery  at  which  his  subjects,  when  on 
pilgrimage  to  the  holy  places,  should  find  adequate  and 
suitable  accommodation.  He  accordingly  dispatched  a 
mission  to  Samudragupta  laden  with  the  gems  for  which 
Ceylon  has  always  been  renowned,  besides  other  valuable 
gifts,  and  requested  permission  to  found  a  monastery  on 
Indian  soil.  Samudragupta,  flattered  at  receiving  such  atten- 
tions from  a  distant  power,  was  pleased  to  consider  the  gifts 
as  tribute,  and  gave  the  required  permission.  The  envoy 
returned  home,  and,  after  due  deliberation,  King  Meghavarna 
decided  to  build  his  monastery  near  the  holy  tree.  His 
purpose,  solemnly  recorded  on  a  copper  plate,  was  carried 
out  by  the  erection  of  a  splendid  convent  to  the  north 
of  the  tree.  This  building,  which  was  three  stories  in 
height,  included  six  halls,  \\'as  adorned  A^■ith  three  toners, 
and  surrounded  by  a  strong  wall  30  or  40  feet  high.  The 
decorations  were  executed  in  the  richest  colours  with  the 
highest  artistic  skill,  and  the  statue  of  Buddha,  cast  in 
gold  and  silver,  was  studded  with  gems.  The  subsidiary 
stiipas,  enshrining  relics  of  Buddha  himself,  were  worthy 
of  the  principal  edifice.  In  the  seventh  century,  when 
Hiuen  Tsang  visited  it,  this  magnificent  establishment  was 
occupied  by  a  thousand  moidis  of  the  Sthavira  school  of 
the  Mahayana,  and  afforded   ample  hospitality  to   pilgrims 


288 


THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 


Horse- 
sacrifice. 


Personal 
accom- 
plish- 
ments 
of  Sanm- 
dragupta. 


fioin  Ceylon.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  an  extensive 
mound. ^ 

It  was  presumably  after  his  return  from  the  south  that 
Samudragupta  determined  to  celebrate  his  manifold  victories 
and  proclaim  the  universality  of  his  dominion  by  reviving 
the  ancient  rite  of  the  horse-sacrifice  [asvamedha),  which  had 
remained  long  in  abeyance^  and  probably  had  not  been  per- 
formed in  Northern  India  since  the  days  of  Pushyamitra. 
The  ceremony  was  duly  carried  out  with  appropriate  splendour, 
and  accomjDanied  by  lavish  gifts  to  Brahmans,  comprising, 
it  is  said,  millions  of  coins  and  gold  pieces.  Specimens  of 
the  gold  medals  struck  for  this  purpose,  bearing  a  suitable 
legend  and  the  effigy  of  the  doomed  horse  standing  before  the 
altar,  have  been  found  in  small  numbers.  Another  memorial 
of  the  event  seems  to  exist  in  the  rudely  carved  stone  figure 
of  a  horse  which  was  found  in  Northern  Oudh,  and  now 
stands  in  the  Lucknow  Museum  with  traces  of  a  brief  dedi- 
catory inscription  incised  upon  it,  apparently  referring  to 
Samudragupta.^ 

Although  the  courtly  phrases  of  the  official  eulogist 
cannot  be  accepted  without  a  certain  amount  of  reservation, 
it  is  clear  that  Samudragupta  was  a  ruler  of  exceptional 
capacity  and  unusually  varied  gifts.  The  laureate's  com- 
memoration of  his  hero's  proficiency  in  song  and  music  is 
curiously  confirmed  by  the  existence  of  a  few  rare  gold  coins 
depicting  his  majesty  comfortably  seated  on  a  high-backed 
couch,  engaged  in  playing  the  Indian  lyre.^  The  allied  art  of 
poetry  was  also  reckoned  among  the  accomplishments  of  this 


'  The  synchronism  of  Megha- 
varna  with  Samudragupta,  dis- 
covered by  M.  Sylvain  Levi  from  a 
Chinese  work,  has  been  discussed 
by  the  author  in  the  paper  on  Gupta 
chronology  already  cited,  and  in 
'The  Inscriptions  of  Mahanaman 
at  Bodh-Gaya'  {Ind.  Ant.,  1902, 
p.  192).  But  Meghavarna  reigned 
later  than  I  supposed  when  those 
pajM-rs  were  written,  A.  d.  3,52and379 
(.traiisl.  ]\lah(lv(imsa  (1912),  p. 
xxxix  .  His  true  dates  may  be 
slightly  earlier. 

"^  The   fact   that    the    mutilated 


inscription  —  dda  f/utfassa  deya- 
dhdihma  — is  in  Prakrit  suggests  a 
shade  of  doubt.  All  other  Gupta 
inscriptions  are  in  Sanskrit  (./.  Ji. 
A.  S.,  1893,  p.  98,  with  plate).  See 
Fig.  11  in  plate  of  coins.  The  horse 
having  been  exposed  to  the  weather 
outside  the  Lucknow  Museum  for 
years,  the  inscription  has  disap- 
peared. The  image  is  now  inside 
the  building.  The  inscription  was 
legible  when  the  first  edition  of 
this  book  was  published. 
3  Plate  of  coins,  Fig.  10. 


THE  INDIAN  NAPOLEON  289 

versatile  monarch,  who  is  said  to  have  been  reputed  a  king  of 
poets,  and  to  have  composed  numerous  metrical  works  worthy 
of  tlie  reputation  of  a  professional  author.  We  are  further 
informed  that  the  king  took  much  delight  in  the  society 
of  the  learned,  and  loved  to  employ  his  acute  and  polished 
intellect  in  the  study  and  defence  of  the  sacred  scriptures, 
as  well  as  in  the  lighter  arts  of  music  and  poetry.  In  his 
youth  he  extended  his  royal  favour  to  Vasubandhu,  the 
celebrated  Buddhist  author.  The  picture  of  Samudragupta 
as  painted  by  his  court  poet  reminds  the  reader  of  that 
of  Akbar  as  depicted  by  his  no  less  partial  biographer, 
Abul  Fazl. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  exact  degree  of  skill  attained 
by  Samudragupta  in  the  practice  of  the  arts  which  graced  his 
scanty  leisure,  it  is  clear  that  he  was  endowed  with  no  ordinary 
powers ;  and  that  he  was  in  fact  a  man  of  genius,  who  may 
fairly  claim  the  title  of  the  Indian  Napoleon.  Unfortunately, 
the  portraits  on  his  coins  are  not  sufficiently  good  to  give 
a  clear  notion  of  his  personal  appearance. 

By  a  strange  irony  of  fate  this  great  king — warrior,  poet,  and  Recovery 
musician — who  conquered  nearly  all  India,  and  whose  alliances  history. 
extended  from  the  Oxus  to  Ceylon,  was  unknown  even  by  name 
to  the  historians  of  India  until  the  publication  of  this  work. 
His  lost  fame  has  been  slowly  recovered  by  the  minute  and 
laborious  study  of  inscriptions  and  coins  during  the  last 
eighty  years;  and  the  fact  that  it  is  now  possible  to  write 
a  long  narrative  of  the  events  of  his  memorable  reign  is 
perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  success 
gained  by  patient  archaeological  research  in  piecing  together 
the  fragments  from  which  alone  the  chart  of  the  authentic 
early  history  of  India  can  be  constructed. 

The  exact  year  of  Samudragupta's  death  is  not  known,  c.a.d.  375. 
but  he  certainly  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  enjoyed  a 
reign  of  uninterrupted  prosperity  for  nearly  half  a  century. 
Before  he  passed  away,  he  did  his  best  to  secure  the  peaceful 
transmission  of  the  crown  by  nominating  as  his  successor, 
from  among  many  sons,^  the  offspring  of  his  queen,  Datta 
^  Eran  and  Bhitarl  inscriptions. 

1628  U 


v^ 


290  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

Devi,  M-honi  lie  rightly  deemed  worthy  to  inherit  a  magnifi- 
cent empire. 
Chandra-  xiie  son  thus  selected,  who  probably  had  been  associated 
&c.  '  iis  Crown  Prince  [yuvardja)  with  his  father  in  the  cares  of 
government,  assumed  the  name  of  his  grandfather,  in  accor- 
dance M'ith  Hindu  custom,  and  is  therefore  distinguished  in 
,^^1  the  dynastic  list  as  Chandra-gupta  II.  He  also  took  the 
title  of  Vikramaditya  ('  Sun  of  Power '),  and  has  a  better 
claim  than  any  other  sovereign  to  be  regarded  as  the  original 
of  the  mythical  king  of  that  name  who  figures  so  largely  in 
Indian  legends.  The  precise  date  of  his  accession  is  not 
recorded,  but  it  cannot  be  far  removed  from  a.  d.  375 ; 
and,  pending  the  discovery  of  some  coin  or  inscription  to 
settle  the  matter,  that  date  may  be  assumed  as  approximately 
correct.  So  far  as  appears,  the  succession  to  the  throne  was 
accomplished  peacefully  without  contest,  and  the  new  em- 
peror, who  must  have  been  a  man  of  mature  age  at  the  time  of 
his  accession,  found  himself  in  a  position  to  undertake  the  ex- 
tension of  the  A^'ide  dominion  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  ever- 
\ictorious  father.  He  did  not  renew  Samudragupta^s  southern 
adventures,  preferring  to  seek  room  for  expansion  towards 
the  south-west.^ 
Conquest  The  greatest  military  achievement  of  Chandra-gupta 
Gujarat  '  Vikramaditya  was  his  advance  to  the  Arabian  Sea  through 
a"d  Ka-  Malwa  and  Gujarat,  and  his  subjugation  of  the  peninsula  of 
Surashtra  or  Kathiawar,  which  had  been  ruled  for  centuries 
by  the  Saka  dynasty,  of  foreign  origin,  known  to  European 
scholars  as  the  Western  Satraps.^     The  campaigns  which 

*  In  previous  editions  I  assumed  Pushkarana  (Pokharan  or  Pokur- 

that  the  Chandra  of  the  inscription  na),  about  27°  N.  lat.,  72°  55'  E. 

on  the  Iron  Pillar  of  Delhi  should  lonj?.,  is  a  well-known  town,  and  in 

be  identified  with   Chandra-gupta  Tod's    time   was    still    '  the    most 

II     Vikramaditya,     who,     conse-  wealthy  and  powerful  of  the  baron- 

quently,  should    be   credited  with  ies   of  Marwar '  {Ind.  Ant.,  1913, 

victories  in  Bengal  and  the  Panjab,  pp.217  19;  Annalu  of  liajasthan, 

as  argued  in  my  essay  on  the  sub-  reprint  (2nd  ed.,  1873^,  vol  i,  p.  605. 

ject  (/.  R.  A.  S.,  1897,  p.  1).     But  '  For  the  detailed  history  of  the 

M.  M.  Haraprasad   Shastri   seems  Western    Satraps    see   the  papers 

to  be  right  in  identifying  Chandra  by  Messrs.  Rapson,  Bhagwan  Lai 

of  the   Iron   Pillar  with  Chandra-  Indrajl,  and  Biddulph, in./.  7?.^.  is',, 

varman,  king  of  Pushkarana,  Raj-  1890,  p.  639 ;  1899,  p.  357. 
piitaiia,    in    the     fourth     century. 


THE  WESTERN  SATRAPS  291 

added  those  remote  provinces  to  the  empire  must  have  occu- 
pied several  years,  and  are  known  to  have  taken  pkice  between 
A.D.  388  and  401.  The  year  395  nuiy  be  assumed  as  a  mean 
date  for  the  completion  of  the  coiupiest,  which  involved  the 
incorporation  in  tiie  empire  of  the  territory  held  by  the 
Malavas  and  other  tribes,  who  had  remained  outside  the 
limits  of  Samudragupta's  dominion.  The  annexation  of 
Surashtra  and  Malwfi  not  only  added  to  tiie  empire  pro\inces 
of  exceptional  wealth  and  fertility,  but  opened  up  to  the 
paramount  power  free  access  to  the  ports  of  the  western 
coast;  and  thus  placed  Chandra-gupta  II  in  direct  touch 
with  the  seaborne  commerce  with  Europe  through  Egypt, 
and  brought  his  court  and  subjects  under  the  influence  of 
the  European  ideas  which  travelled  with  the  goods  of  the 
Alexandrian  merchants.  The  foreign  influence  on  the  litera- 
ture, art,  and  science  of  the  Gupta  age  will  be  discussed 
briefly  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  so-called  '  Western  Satraps '  comprise  two  distinct  The 
dynasties,  ruling  in  widely  separated  territories.  The  Ksha-  c^fr-lYs" 
harata  Satraps  of  Maharashtra,  with  their  capital  probably 
at  Nasik  in  the  Western  Ghats,  who  had  established  their 
power  at  some  time  in  the  first  century  after  Christ,  were 
destroyed  by  Gautamiputra,  an  Andhra  king,  in  or  about 
A.D.  126,  their  dominions  being  annexed  to  the  Andhra 
monarchy.  The  second  satrapy  of  the  west,  founded  by  the 
Saka  Chashtana  at  Ujjain  in  Malwa  late  in  the  first  century 
of  Christ,  was  immensely  extended  by  Chashtana's  grandson, 
Rudradaman  I,  who  at  some  date  between  a.  d.  126  and  150 
conquered  from  Gautamiputra's  son,  Pulumayi  II,  all  or 
nearly  all  the  territory  which  Gautamiputra  had  taken  from 
the  Kshaharatas  a  few  years  earlier.  The  power  of  Rudra- 
daman I  was  thus  established  not  only  over  the  peninsula  of 
Surashtra,  but  also  over  Malwa,  Cutch  (Kachchh),  Sind,  the 
Konkan,  and  other  districts — in  short,  over  Western  India. 
The  capital  of  Chashtana  and  his  successors  was  Ujjain,  one 
of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  India,  the  principal  depot  for 
the  commerce  between  the  ports  of  the  west  and  the  interior, 
famous  as  a  seat  of  learning  and  civilization,  and  also  notable 

i:  2 


292  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

as    the    Indian    Greenwich   from    which    longitudes    were 
reckoned.     The  place,  which  is  still  a  considerable  town 
with  many  relics  of  its  past  greatness,  retains  its  ancient 
name,  and  was  for  a  time  the  capital  of  Maharaja  Sindia. 
Fall  of  Samudragupta,  Jilthough  not  able  to  undertake  the  con- 

the  last  quest  of  the  west,  had  received  an  embassy  from  the  son  of 
another  Rudradaman,  the  satrap  Rudrasena,  who  must  have 
been  deeply  impressed  by  the  emperor's  triumphant  march 
through  India.  Chandra-gupta  II,  strong  in  the  possession 
of  the  territory  and  treasure  acquired  by  his  father,  resolved 
to  crush  his  western  rival,  and  to  annex  the  valuable  provinces 
which  owned  the  satrap's  sway.  The  motives  of  an  ambitious 
king  in  undertaking  an  aggressive  war  against  a  rich  neigh- 
bour are  not  far  to  seek ;  but  we  may  feel  assured  that 
differences  of  race,  creed,  and  manners  supplied  the  Gupta 
monarch  with  special  reasons  for  desiring  to  suppress  the 
impure  foreign  rulers  of  the  west.  Chandra-gupta  Vikrama- 
ditya,  although  tolerant  of  Buddhism  and  Jainism,  was  himself 
an  orthodox  Hindu,  specially  devoted  to  the  cult  of  Vishnu, 
and  as  such  cannot  but  have  experienced  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion in  '  violently  uprooting^  foreign  chieftains  who  probably 
cared  little  for  caste  rules.  Whatever  his  motives  may  have 
been,  he  attacked,  dethroned,  and  slew  the  satrap  Rudrasinha, 
son  of  Satyasinha,  and  annexed  his  dominions.  Scandalous 
tradition  affirmed  that  '  in  his  enemy's  city  the  king  of  the 
Sakas,  while  courting  another  man's  wife,  was  butchered  by 
Chandra-gupta,  concealed  in  his  mistress's  dress ';^  but  the 
tale  does  not  look  like  genuine  history.  The  last  notice  of 
the  satraps  refers  to  the  year  a.d.  388,  and  the  incorporation 
of  their  dominions  in  the  Gupta  empire  must  have  been 
effected  soon  after  that  date. 

The  Gupta  kings,  excepting  the  founder  of  the  dynasty, 

all  enjoyed  long  reigns,  like  the  Moghals  in  later  times. 

Chandra-gupta  Vikramaditya  occupied  the  throne  for  nearly 

Character  forty  years,  and  survived  until  a.d.  413.     Little  is  known 

dra-trunta  concerning  his  personal  character ;  but  the  ascertained  facts 

11.  of   his  career  suffice  to   prove   that   he   was   a    strong    and 

^  Jlarxa-carita,  transl.  Cowell  and  Thomas,  p.  194.. 


PATALIPUTRA  293 

vigorous  ruler,  well  qualified  to  govern  and  augment  an 
extensive  empire.  He  loved  sounding  titles  which  proclaimed 
his  martial  prowess,  and  was  fond  of  depicting  himself  on 
his  coins  as  engaged  in  successful  personal  combat  with 
a  lion,  after  the  old  Persian  fashion. 

There  are  indications  that  Pataliputra^  although  it  may  The 
have  been  still  regarded  as  the  official  capital,  ceased  to  be  '^'^^^ 
the  ordinary  residence  of  the  Gupta  sovereigns  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  extensive  conquests  effected  by  Samudragupta. 
The  Maurya  emperors,  it  is  true,  had  managed  to  control 
a  dominion  very  much  larger  than  that  of  the  Guptas  from 
the  ancient  imperial  city,  but,  even  in  their  time,  its  remote- 
ness in  the  extreme  east  must  have  caused  inconvenience,  and 
a  more  central  position  for  the  court  had  obvious  advantages, 
Ajodhya,  the  legendary  abode  of  the  hero  Rama,  the  ruins 
of  which  have  supplied  materials  for  the  building  of  the 
modern  city  of  Fyzabad  in  Southern  Oudh,  enjoyed  a  more 
favourable  situation,  and  appears  to  have  been  at  times  the 
head -quarters  of  the  government  of  both  Samudragupta  and 
his  son,  the  latter  of  whom  probably  had  a  mint  for  copper 
coins  there.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  during  the  fifth 
century  Ajodhya,  rather  than  Fataliputra,  was  the  premier 
city  of  the  Gupta  empire. 

The  Asoka  pillar  on  which  Samudragupta  recorded  the  Kau- 
history  of  his  reign  is  supposed  to  have  been  erected  originally 
at  the  celebrated  city  of  Kausambi,  which  stood  on  the  high  » 
road  between  Ujjain  and  Northern  India,  and  was  no  doubt 
honoured  at  times  by  the  residence  of  the  monarch. ^  The 
real  capital  of  an  Oriental  despotism  is  the  seat  of  the 
despot's  court  for  the  time  being. 

Pataliputra,    however,   although   necessarily  considerably  Patali- 
neglected  by  warrior  kings  like  Samudragupta  and  Vikra-  P"  ^'^' 
maditya,  continuea  to  be  a  magnificent  and  populous  city 
throughout  the  reign  of  the  latter,  and  was  apparently  not 
ruined  until   the  time  of   the   Hun   invasion    in   the   sixth 

1  For  discussion  of  the  site  of      ^1.  S.,  1898,  p.  503;  and  '  ^ravastl ', 
Kausambi  see  the  author's  papers,       ibid.,  1900,  p.  1. 
'  Kausambi  and  Sravasti ',  in  /.  li. 


294  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

century.  When  tlie  Chinese  pilgrim,  Hiuen  Tsang,  lived  in 
the  neighbourhood  (640),  he  found  the  greater  part  of  the 
ancient  site  covered  by  hundreds  of  ruins.  'The  city',  he 
tells  us,  *  had  long  been  a  wilderness^,  save  for  a  small  walled 
town  near  the  Ganges,  with  about  1,000  inhabitants.  Harsha, 
when  he  ruled  Northern  India  as  paramount  sovereign 
(612-47),  made  no  attempt  to  restore  the  old  imperial  capital, 
preferring  to  make  Kananj,  situated  between  the  Ganges 
and  Jumna,  the  seat  of  his  government.  Dharmapala,  the 
second  and,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Pala  kings  of 
Bengal  and  Bihar,  evidently  took  some  steps  to  renew  the 
glory  of  Pataliputra,  because  we  know  that  in  the  thirty- 
second  year  of  his  reign  (about  a.d.  811)  he  held  his  court 
there.  After  that  glimpse  of  the  old  citj',  we  lose  sight  of  it 
again  until  1541,  when  it  had  sunk  to  the  rank  of  'a  small 
town,  dependent  on  Bihar,  which  was  the  seat  of  government.^ 
Sher  Shah,  being  imjjressed  by  the  strategical  advantages  of 
the  position,  then  built  a  fort  at  the  cost  of  half  a  million  of 
rupees.  '  Bihar  from  that  date  was  deserted  and  fell  to  ruin, 
while  Patna  became  one  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  province'. 
The  prosperity  thus  restored  by  the  action  of  Sher  Shah  has 
Jiever  been  lost. 

In  1912,  Patna  once  more  became  a  capital,  as  the  head- 
(juarters  of   the  newly  constituted  Province  of   Bihar  and 
Orissa.   The  civil  station  of  Bankipore,  which  forms  a  suburb 
of  Patna,  stands  on  part  of  the  site  of  Pataliputra.^ 
^•V-  We    are   fortunate   enough   to   possess    in    the   work    of 

Fa-hieii.  Fa-hien,  the  earliest  Chinese  pilgrim,  a  contemjjorary  accomit 
of  the  administration  of  Chandra-gupta  Yikramaditj^a,  as  it 
appeared  to  an  intelligent  foreigner  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century.  The  worthy  pilgrim,  it  is  true,  was  so 
absorbed  in  his  search  for  Buddhist  books,  legends,  and 
miracles  that  he  had  little  care  for  the  things  of  this  world, 
and  did  not  trouble  even  to  mention  the  name  of  the  mighty 
monarch  in  Avhose  territories  he  spent  six  studious  years. 


'  "Watters,    On    Yuan    Chw(ing''s      iv,  "^oS.     TCi 
Travels  hi  India,  ii,  87.     Dhanria-       Ilistori/,  iv,  477. 


rdrikh-inJJdudl  in  Elliot, 
Ilistori/,  iv 
pala's  Khalimpur  grant  in  Ep.  Ind., 


PALACE  AND  MONASTERIES  ^95 

But  now  and  then  he  allowed  his  pen  to  note  some  of  the 
facts  of  ordinary  life,  and  in  more  than  one  passage  he  has 
recorded  particulars,  which,  although  insufficient  to  gratify 
the  curiosity  of  the  twentieth  century,  yet  suffice  to  give 
a  tolerably  vivid  picture  of  the  state  of  the  country.  The 
picture  is  a  pleasing  one  on  the  whole,  and  proves  that 
Vikramaditya  was  capable  of  bestowing  on  his  people  the 
benefits  of  orderly  government  in  sufficient  measure  to  allow 
them  to  grow  rich  in  peace  and  prosper  abundantly. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  Pataliputra  the  Splen- 
traveller  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  sight  of  Asoka's  pataii- 
palace,  which  was  at  that  time  still  in  existence,  and  so  putra. 
cunningly  constructed  of  stone  that  the  work  clearly  appeared 
to  be  beyond  the  skill  of  mortal  hands,  and  was  believed  to 
have  been  executed  by  spirits  in  the  service  of  the  emperor. 
Near  a  great  stiipa,  also  ascribed  to  Asoka,  stood  two  monas- 
teries, one  occupied  by  followers  of  the  Mahayana,  and  the 
other  by  those  of  the  Hinayana  sect.  The  monks  resident  in 
both  establishments  together  numbered  six  or  seven  hundred, 
and  were  so  famous  for  learning  that  their  lectures  were 
frequented  by  students  and  inquirers  from  all  quarters. 
Fa-hien  spent  three  years  here  studying  Sanskrit,  and  was 
made  happy  by  obtaining  certain  works  on  monastic  disci- 
pline as  taught  by  various  schools,  for  which  he  had  sought 
elsewhere  in  vain.  He  describes  with  great  admiration  the 
splendid  procession  of  images,  carried  on  some  twenty  huge 
cars  richly  decorated,  which  aimually  paraded  through  the 
city  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  second  month,  attended  by 
singers  and  musicians ;  and  notes  that  similar  processions 
were  common  in  other  parts  of  the  country.^ 

The  towns  of  Magadha  were  the  largest  in  the  Gangetic  Free  hos- 
plain,  which  Fa-hien  calls  by  the  name  of  Central  India  or  P'  ^  * 
the  Middle  Kingdom ;    the  people  were  rich  and  prosperous, 
and  seemed  to  him  to  emulate  each  other  in  the  practice  of 
virtue.     Charitable  institutions  were  numerous  ;    rest-houses 
for  travellers  were  provided  on  the  highways,  and  the  capital 

'  Travels,  ch.  xxvii,  in  any  of  the  versions. 


296  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

possessed  an  excellent  free  hospital  endowed  by  benevolent 
and  educated  citizens, 

'Hither  come',  we  are  told,  'all  poor  or  helpless  patients 
suffering  from  all  kinds  of  infirmities.  They  are  well  taken 
care  of,  and  a  doctor  attends  them ;  food  and  medicine  being 
supplied  according  to  their  wants.  Thus  they  are  made 
quite  comfortable,  and  when  they  are  well,  they  may  go 
away. '  ^ 

It  may  be  doubted  if  any  equally  efficient  foundation  was 
to  be  seen  elsewhere  in  the  world  at  that  date ;  and  its  exis- 
tence, anticipating  the  deeds  of  modern  Christian  charity, 
speaks  well  both  for  the  character  of  the  citizens  who  endowed 
it,  and  for  the  genius  of  the  great  Asoka,  whose  teaching 
still  bore  such  wholesome  fruit  many  centuries  after  his 
decease.^ 
Bud-  In   the    course   of   a   journey    of    some  500   miles   from 

the  Indus  to  Mathura  on  the  Jumna,  Fa-hien  passed  a 
succession  of  Buddhist  monasteries  tenanted  by  thousands 
of  monks  J  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mathura  found 
twenty  of  these  buildings  occupied  by  three  thousand 
residents.  Buddhism  was  growing  in  favour  in  this  part  of 
the  country.^ 
Prosperity  The  region  to  the  south  of  Mathura,  that  is  to  say, 
Oi  X.  wa.  ^j^iyy^^  specially  excited  the  admiration  of  the  traveller; 
who  was  delighted  alike  with  the  natural  advantages  of  the 
country,  the  disposition  of  the  people,  and  the  moderation 
of  the  government.  The  climate  seemed  to  him  very  agree- 
able, being  temperate,  and  free  from  the  discomforts  of  frost 
and  snow  with  which  he  was  familiar  at  home  and  in  the 
course  of  his  journey.     The  large  population  lived  happily 

*  Ibid.,  Giles's  version.  an  (a.d.  527-62)  recognized  noso- 
^  Sir  H.  Burdett  [Enci/d.  Brit.,  comia  or  hospitals  among  ecclesias- 
11th  ed  ,  s.  V.  Hospitals  states  that  tical  institutions.  The  Maison  Dieu 
in  Christian  days  no  establishments  or  Hotel  Dieu  of  Pans  is  sometimes 
for  the  relief  of  the  sick  were  alleged  to  be  the  oldest  European 
founded  until  the  reign  of  Constan-  hospital.  It  dates  from  the  seventh 
tine  (A.I).  806-37;.  Late  in  the  century  (Florence  Nightingale  in 
fourth  century  Basil  founded  a  leper  Chambers's  Ena/cL,  19()4). 
hospital  at  Caesarea,  and  St.  Chry-  *  Travels,  ch' xvi.  The  *  temples  ' 
sostom  established  a  hospital  at  and  '  priests '  apparently  were  Bud- 
Constantinople.     A  law  of  Justini-  dhist.     The  versions  of  this  chapter 


BUDDHIST  RULE  OF  LIFE  297 

under  a  sensible  government  which  did  not  worry.  With 
a  glance  at  Chinese  institutions,  Fa-hien  congratulates  the 
Indians  that  '  they  have  not  to  register  their  households,  or 
attend  to  any  magistrates  and  rules '.  They  were  not  troubled 
with  passport  regulations,  or,  as  the  pilgrim  bluntly  puts  it : 
'  Those  who  want  to  go  away,  may  go ;  those  who  want  to 
stop,  may  stop/  The  administration  of  the  criminal  law 
seemed  to  him  mild  in  comparison  with  the  Chinese  system. 
Most  crimes  were  punished  only  by  fines,  varying  in  amount 
according  to  the  gravity  of  the  offence,  and  capital  punish- 
ment would  seem  to  have  been  unknown.  Persons  guilty  of 
repeated  rebellion,  an  expression  which  probably  includes 
brigandage,  suffered  amputation  of  the  right  hand ;  but  such 
a  penalty  was  exceptional,  and  judicial  torture  was  not 
practised.  The  revenue  was  mainly  derived  from  the  rents 
of  the  crown  lands,  and  the  royal  officers,  being  provided 
with  fixed  salaries,  had  no  occasion  to  live  on  the  people. 

The  Buddhist  rule  of  life  was  generally  observed.  Buddhist 
'  Throughout  the  country,'  we  are  told,  '^  no  one  kills  any  ^IfQ^  ^ 
living  thing,  or  drinks  wine,  or  eats  onions  or  garlic  ^  .  .  . 
they  do  not  keep  pigs  or  fowls,  there  are  no  dealings  in 
cattle,  no  butchers'  shops  or  distilleries  in  their  market- 
places.' The  Chandala,  or  outcaste  tribes,  who  dwelt  apart 
like  lepers,  and  were  required  when  entering  a  city  or  bazaar 
to  strike  a  piece  of  wood  as  a  warning  of  their  approach, 
in  order  that  other  folk  might  not  be  polluted  by  contact 
with  them,^  were  the  only  offenders  against  the  laws  of 
piety  (dharma),  and  the  only  hunters,  fishermen,  and 
butchers.  Cowrie  shells  formed  the  ordinary  currency.^  The 
Buddhist  monasteries  were  liberally  endowed  by  royal  grants, 

differ  considerably  :  those  of  Legge  *  Beyond  the  walls  the  outcastes 

and  Giles  have  been  used  in  the  text.  dwell, 

'  Onions  and  garlic  are  regarded  'Tis  worse  than  death  to  touch 
as  impure  by  many  castes.  Onions,  such  men.'  {Gover,  Folk- 
it  is  alleged,  are  supposed  when  Soni/s  of  Southeni  India,  p.  ,')8). 
cut  to  resemble  flesh.  Garlic,  per-  ^  This  statement  must  not  be 
haps,  was  originally  condemned  pressed  to  mean  that  coins  did  not 
as  being  a  foreign  innovation.  exist.  Chandra-guptaVikramaditya 
Gopaditya,  an  ancient  king  of  coined  freely  in  gold,  as  well  as 
Kashmir,  punished  Brahmans  who  sparingly  in  silver  and  bronze  or 
ate  garlic  (Stein,  transl.  lid/at.,  copper.  His  archer  type  gold  coins 
Bk.  i,  342).  may  be  described  as  being  common. 


298 


THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 


Good 

irovern- 
mcnt. 


Certain 
localities 


and  the  monks  received  alms  without  stint — houses,  beds, 
mattresses,  food,  and  clothes  were  never  lacking  to  them 
M-lierever  they  might  go. 

These  particulars,  as  collected  and  narrated  by  the  earliest 
Chinese  traveller  in  India,  permit  of  no  doubt  that  the 
dominions  of  Chandra-gupta  Vikramaditya  were  well 
governed ;  tlie  authorities  interfering  as  little  as  possible 
with  the  subject,  and  leaving  him  free  to  prosper  and 
grow  rich  in  his  own  way.  The  devout  pilgrim  pursued 
his  Sanskrit  studies  for  three  years  at  Pataliputra,  and  for 
two  years  at  the  port  of  Tamralipti  (Tamluk),  without  let 
or  hindrance,  and  it  is  clear  that  the  roads  were  safe  for 
travellers.^  Fa-hien  never  has  occasion  to  complain  of  being 
stripped  by  brigands,  a  misfortune  which  befell  his  successor 
Hiuen  Tsang  in  the  seventh  century  more  than  once. 
Probably  India  has  never  been  governed  better,  after  the 
Oriental  manner,  than  it  was  during  the  reign  of  Vikrama- 
ditya. The  government  did  not  attempt  to  do  too  much  ; 
but  let  the  people  alone,  and  was  accordingly  popular.  The 
merciful  teachings  of  Buddhism  influenced  the  lives  of  all 
classes,  except  the  most  degraded ;  while,  inasmuch  as  the 
sovereign  was  a  Brahmanical  Hindu,  the  tendency  to  the 
harassing  kind  of  persecution,  which  a  Buddhist  or  Jain 
government  is  apt  to  display,  was  kept  in  check,  and  liberty 
of  conscience  was  assured.  Fa-hien,  as  a  pious  devotee, 
necessarily  saw  everything  through  Buddhist  spectacles,  but 
it  is  evident  that,  Avith  a  Brahmanical  supreme  govern- 
ment, Hinduism  of  the  orthodox  kind  must  have  been  far 
more  prominent  than  his  account  Mould  lead  the  reader  to 
suppose,  and  sacrifices  must  have  been  permitted.  In  fact, 
the  Brahmanical  reaction  against  Buddhism  had  begun  at 
a  time  considerably  earlier  than  that  of  Fa-hien's  travels ; 
and  Indian  Buddhism  was  already  \ipon  the  downward  path, 
although  the  pilgrim  could  not  discern  the  signs  of  de- 
cadence. 

While   the   general   prosperity    and    tranquillity    of    the 


'   Trarelif,    chh.     xxxvi,     xxxvii.       of  Bengal,  is  now  some  GO  miles 
Tamluk,  in  the  Midnapur  District       from  the  sea. 


KUMARAGUPTA  I  299 

empire  under  the  rule  of  Chundra-jrupta  A^ikraniriditya  are  unpros- 
abundantly  proved  by  the  express  testimony  of  Fa-hien,  and  P^''°"''- 
by  his  unobstructed  movements  in  all  directions  during 
many  years;  certain  districts  did  not  share  in  the  general 
well-being,  and  had  retrograded  in  population  and  M'ealth. 
The  city  of  Gaya,  we  are  informed,  was  empty  and  desolate ; 
the  holy  places  of  Bodh-Gaya,  6  miles  to  the  south,  were 
surrounded  by  jungle;  and  an  extensive  tract  of  country 
near  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  which  had  been  the  seat 
of  a  large  population  in  the  fifth  century  n.c,  was  now 
sparsely  inhabited.  The  great  city  of  Sn'tvastl,  on  the 
upper  course  of  the  llapti,  was  occupied  by  only  two  hundred 
families ;  and  the  holy  towns  of  Kapilavastu  and  Kusinagara 
were  waste  and  deserted,  save  for  a  scanty  remnant  of  monks 
and  their  lay  attendants,  who  clung  to  the  sacred  spots,  and 
derived  a  meagre  subsistence  from  the  alms  of  rare  pilgrims. 
The  causes  of  this  decav  are  unknoAvn.^ 

A   son   of   Vikramaditya   by  one   of   his   queens  named  ^;''- '^'^• 

11  •     Kumara- 

Dhruva  Devi  ascended  the  throne  as  a  young  man  in^rnptal, 
A.D.  413,  and  reigned  for  more  than  forty  years.  He  is  ''^^'^' 
known  to  history  as  Kumaragupta  I,  in  order  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  great-grandson  of  the  same  name.  The  events 
of  this  king's  reign  are  not  known  in  detail,  but  tlie  distri- 
bution of  the  numerous  contemporary  inscriptions  and  coins 
permits  of  no  doubt  that  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
unusually  prolonged  rule  the  empire  suffered  no  diminution. - 
On  the  contrar)',  it  probably  gained  certain  additions,  for 
Kumara,  like  his  grandfather^  celebrated  the  horse-sacrifice 
as  an  assertion  of  his  paramount  sovereignty ;  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  he  would  have  indulged  in  this  vaunt  unless  to 
some  extent  justified  by  successful  warfare.  But  tlie  extant 
records  furnish  no  information  concerning  specific  events, 
beyond  the  fact  that  at  the  close  of  his  reign,  that  is  to  say, 
in    the    middle   of   the   fifth   century,    Kumara's   dominions 

'  Travels,  chh.  xx, xxii,  xxiv, xxxi.  bassy  sent  by  a'Raja  named  Yue-ai, 

"  The  only  definitely  dated  politi-  '  Moon-loved 'i!'  Chandrapriya.who 

cal  event  of  Kiimaragupta's  reign  was  lord  of  the  Ka-p'i-li  country, 

which  I  can  specify  is  the  arrival  in  which     has     not     been     identified 

China  in  the  year  a.  d.  428,  of  an  em-  v^V'atters,  /.  li.  A.S.,  1898,  p.  5W;. 


300  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

suffered  severely  from  the  irruption  of  the  Hun  hordes,  who 
had  burst  through  the  nortli-western  jjasses,  and  spread  in 
a  destructive  flood  all  over  Northern  India.  Before  entering 
upon  the  discussion  of  the  Hun  invasion  and  the  consequent 
break-up  of  the  Gupta  empire,  it  is  desirable  to  pause,  in 
order  to  record  a  few  brief  observations  on  the  significance 
of  the  rule  of  the  great  Gupta  sovereigns  in  the  evolution  of 
Indian  language,  literature,  art,  science,  and  religion.^ 

'  See  Dr.    R.    G.    Bhandarkar's  from  the  /.  Bo.  R.  A.  S.     In  spite 

brilliant   essay,   A    Peep    into    the  of   an    untenable    theory    of    the 

Earh/   Jlisfori/  of  India  from  the  Kushan  chronology,  that  paper  i 

Fomidiition  of  the  Maurya  Dynasty  the  best  short  account  of  the  early 

to   the    Downfall   of  the   Imperial  history  of  India  which  has  yet  ap- 

Gnpta    Dynasty   (323   b.c.-c.   a.  u.  peared. 
300),    Bombay,    1900;     reprinted 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE  (continued)  ;   AND  THE 
WHITE  HUNS 

From  a.d.  455  to  606 

The  general  prevalence  of  Buddhism  in  Northern  India,  Preva- 

includinw  Kashmir,  Afi^hanistan,  and  Suwat,  during  the  two  l^"S^„"f 

.  ^  .  .  .  Buddhism 

centuries  immediately  preceding  and  the  two  next  following  from 

the  Christian  era,  is  amply  attested  by  tlie  numerous  remains  ^  p^goo 
of  Buddhist  monuments  erected  during  tliat  period,  and  a 
multitude  of  inscriptions,  which  are  almost  all  either  Buddhist 
or  Jain.  The  Jain  cult,  which  was  closely  related  to  the 
Buddhist,  does  not  appear  to  have  gained  very  wide  popu- 
larity, although  it  was  practised  with  great  devotion  at 
certain  localities,  of  which  Mathura  was  one. 

But  the  orthodox   Hindu  worship,  conducted   under  the  Hindu- 

ffuidance  of  Brahmans,  and  associated  with  sacrificial  rites  '^'".  "'^*- 
'^  .  1    .  .  extinct, 

abhorrent  to  Jain  and  Buddhist  sentiment,  had  never  become 

extinct,  and  had  at  all  times  retained  a  large  share  of  both 
popular  and  royal  favour.  Kadphises  II,  the  Kushan  con- 
queror, was  himself  conquered  by  captive  India,  and  adopted 
with  such  zeal  the  worship  of  Siva  as  practised  by  his  new 
subjects  that  he  constantly  placed  the  image  of  that  Indian 
god  upon  his  coins,  and  described  himself  as  his  devotee. 
Many  other  facts  concur  to  prove  the  continued  worship  of 
the  old  Hindu  gods  during  the  period  in  which  Buddhism 
unquestionably  was  the  most  popular  and  generally  received 
creed. 

In  some  respects,  Buddhism  in  its  Mahayana  form  was  Religion 

better  fitted  than  the  Brahmanical  system   to   attract   the  ?*  **}^ 

.  toreign 

reverence  of  casteless  foreign  chieftains;  and  it  would  not  be  kings. 

unreasonable  to  expect  that  they  shoidd  have  shown  a  decided 


302  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

tendency  to  favour  Buddhism  rather  than  Bralmianism ; 
but  the  facts  do  not  indicate  any  clearly  marked  general 
preference  for  tlie  Buddliist  creed  on  the  part  of  the 
foreigners.  The  only  distinctively  Buddhist  coins  are  the 
few  rare  pieces  of  that  kind  struck  by  Kanishka,  who 
undoubtedly,  in  his  later  years,  liberally  patronized  the 
ecclesiastics  of  the  Buddhist  church,  as  did  his  successor 
Huvishka ;  but  the  next  king,  Vasudeva  I,  reverted  to  the 
devotion  for  Siva,  as  displayed  by  Kadphises  II.  So  the 
later  Saka  satraps  of  Surashtra  seem  to  have  inclined  per- 
sonally much  more  to  the  Brahmanical  than  to  the  Buddhist 
cult,  and  they  certaiidy  bestowed  their  patronage  upon  the 
Sanskrit  of  the  Brahmans  rather  than  upon  the  \ernacular 
literature. 
Connexion  The  development  of  the  Mahayana  school  of  Buddhism, 
Mahavana  ^vhicli  became  prominent  and  fashionable  from  the  time  of 
and  Hin-  Kanishka,  about  the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  was  in 
itself  a  testunony  to  the  revivnig  power  of  Brahmanical 
Hinduism.  The  newer  form  of  Buddhism  had  much  in 
common  with  the  older  Hinduism,  and  the  relation  is  so 
close  that  even  an  expert  often  feels  a  difficulty  in  deciding 
to  which  system  a  particular  image  should  be  assigned. 
Revival  of  Brahmanical  Hinduism  Mas  the  religion  of  the  pundits, 
whose  sacred  language  was  Sanskrit,  a  highly  artificial 
literary  modification  of  a  vernacular  speech  of  the  Panjab. 
As  the  influence  of  tiie  pundits  upon  prince  and  peasant 
waxed  greater  in  matters  of  religion  and  social  observance, 
the  use  of  their  special  veliicle  of  expression  became  more 
widely  diffused,  and  gradually  superseded  the  vernacular  in 
all  documents  of  a  formal  or  official  character.  In  the  third 
century  B.C.  Asoka  had  been  content  to  address  his  com- 
mands to  his  people  in  language  easy  to  be  understood  by 
the  vulgar  ;  but,  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century  after 
Christ,  the  satrap  Rudradfiman  felt  that  his  achievements 
could  be  adequately  commemorated  only  in  elaborate 
Sanskrit.  It  is  impossible  to  go  inore  deeply  into  the 
subject  in  these  pages,  and  it  must  suffice  to  observe  that 
the  rc\ival  of  the  Brahmanical  religion  was  accompanied  by 


HINDU  REACTION  m\ 

the  diffusion  and  extension  of  Sanskrit,  the  sacred  language 
of  the  Brahmans.^ 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  causes,  the  fact  is  abundantly  The 
established  that  the  restoration  of  tlie  Brahinanical  relii;i(Mi  "'"''." 

•^  rc;i(ti<»ii 

to  popular  favour,  and  the  associated  re\'i\al  of  the  Sanskrit  in  Guptu 
language,  became  noticeable  in  the  second  century,  were  ^^"^  ' 
fostered  by  the  satraps  of  Gujarfit  and  Surashtra  during  the 
third,  and  made  a  success  by  the  Gupta  emperors  in  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries.  These  princes,  although  perfectly 
tolerant  of  both  Buddhism  and  Jainism,  and  in  at  least 
three  cases  personally  interested  in  the  former,  were  them- 
selves beyond  question  officially  orthodox  Hindus,  usually 
guided  by  Brahman  advisers,  and  skilled  in  Sanskrit,  the 
language  of  the  pundits.-  An  early  stage  in  the  reaction 
against  Buddhist  condemnation  of  sacrifice  had  been  marked 
by  Pushyamitra's  celebration  of  the  horse-sacrifice  towards 
the  close  of  the  second  century.  In  the  fourth,  Samudragupta 
revived  the  same  ancient  rite  with  added  splendour ;  and, 
in  the  fifth,  his  grandson  repeated  the  solemnity.  Without 
going  further  into  detail,  the  matter  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  remark  that  coins,  inscriptions,  and  monuments  agree  in 
furnishing  abundant  evidence  of  the  recrudescence  during  the 
Gupta  period  of  Brahmanical  Hinduism  at  the  expense  of 
Buddhism,  and  of  the  favour  shown  by  the  ruling  powers 
to  *  classical^  Sanskrit  at  the  expense  of  the  more  popular 
literary  dialects,  which  had  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  the 
Andhra  kings. 

It  is   highly  probable  that  the    popular   legend  of  Raja  Vikra- 
Bikram  of  Ujjain,  the  supposed  founder  of  the  Vikrama  era  ^J^*^  "  •^'' 
dating  from  58  b.  c,  rests  upon  a  confused  recollection  of  the  Kalidasa. 
glories  of   Chandra-gupta   II    Vikramaditya,  who   certainly 
conquered  Ujjain  towards  the  close  of  the  fourth   century 
of   the    Christian   era.     Tradition    associates   nine  gems    of 

'  Thereaderwhodesircs  to  pursue  "  The  three  cases  referred  to  are 

the  subject  should  consult  Professor  those  of  Chandra-gupta  I  and  Sa- 

Otto  Franke's  book,  Ffdi  und  San-  mudragupta,  the  patrons  of  Vasu- 

skrit,  in  ihrem  histor'ischen  und  </eo-  bandhu,  and  Naragupta  Baladitya, 

graphischen  Verhiiltniss  auf  firimd  who  erected  buildings  at  Nalanda 

der  Inschrlften  utid  Miinzen,  Strass-  and  was  regarded  by  Hiuen  Tsang 

burg,  1903.  as  an  earnest  Buddhist. 


304  THE  GUPTA  EMPIRE 

Sanskrit  literature  with  Raja  Bikram,  the  most  resplendent 
of  tlie  nine  being  Kalidasa^  who  is  admitted  by  all  critics  to 
be  the  prince  of  Sanskrit  poets  and  dramatists.  In  my 
judgement  it  is  now  established  that  Kalidasa  lived  and 
Avrote  in  the  fifth  century,  his  literary  activity  extending  over 
a  long  period,  probably  not  less  than  thirty  years.  Although 
it  is  (Ufficult  to  fix  the  dates  of  the  great  poet's  career  with 
precision,  it  appears  to  be  probable  that  he  began  to  write 
either  late  in  the  reign  of  Chandra-gupta  II  or  early  in  the 
reign  of  Kumaragupta  I.  The  traditional  association  of  his 
name  with  Raja  Bikram  of  Ujjain  is  thus  justified  by  sober 
criticism.^ 
Intellec-  The  Gupta  period,  taken  in  a  wide  sense  as  extending  from 
vltv  ofthe '"^l^out  A.D.  300  to  650,  and  meaning  more  particularly  the 
Gupta  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  was  a  time  of  exceptional  intel- 
lectual activity  in  many  fields — a  time  not  unworthy  of 
comparison  with  the  Elizabethan  and  Stuart  period  in 
England.  In  India  all  the  lesser  lights  are  outshone  by  the 
brilliancy  of  Kalidasa,  as  in  England  all  the  smaller  authors 
are  overshadowed  by  Shakespeare.  But,  as  the  Elizabethan 
literature  would  still  be  rich  even  if  Shakespeare  had  not 
written,  so,  in  India,  if  Kalidasa's  works  had  not  survived, 


^  The  date  of  Kalidasa  has  been  century,    has    no    defenders,    and 

the  subject  during  recent  years  of  seeras  to  me  to  rest  upon  erroneous 

much  discussion,  summed  up,  until  premises.     It  is  not  unlikely  that 

November,  1911,  by  B.  Liebich  in  the    earliest    works    of    Kalidasa, 

his  paper  entitled  '  Das  Datum  des  namely,  the  IlHusamhdra  (if  that 

Kalidasa '  {Indo(/erm.  Forsclmmjen,  be  his  ,  and  the  Meghaihlfa,  may 

vStrassburg,  Band  xxxi    1912),  pp.  have   been   composed   before  a.  d. 

198-203)      Among  the  more  impor-  413,  that  is  to  say,  while  Chandra- 

tant  earlier  references  arc  the  fol-  gupta  II  was  on  the  throne,  but  I 

lowing:  Macdonell,//^^  o/jS'«n*A?'/<  am  inclined  to  regard  the  reign  of 

/.<7«r.  (1900;,  p.  324,  where  Kalidasa  Kumaragupta  I   413-5.5  as  the  time 

is  assigned  to  the  beginning  of  the  during  which  the  poet's  later  works 

fifth  century.  Mr.  Keith  J.Jx.A.S.,  were  composed,  and  it  seems  pos- 

1909,  pp.  433-9  also  places  the  poet  sible,  or   even    probable,  that  the 

inthereignof Chandra-guptall.  But  whole    of   his   literary  career   fell 

the  mention  of  the  Hunas  in  liaghii-  within  the  limits  of  that  reign.     It 

vaimia  iv  makes  it  difiicult  to  assign  is  also  possible  that  he  may  have 

that  work  to  a  date  so  early.     See  continued  writing  after  the  acces- 

J.li.yl.S.,   1909,  pp.   731-9;    and  sion  of  Skandagupta.     But  I  have 

Jnd.  Jilt.,  1912,  p.  2(o.  The  theory  no  doubt  that  he  flourished  in  the 

of  Dr.  Hoernle  (J.  It.  A.  S.,  1909,  fifth  century  during  the  time  when 

p.  112),  which  places  Kalidasa's  ac-  the  Gupta  power  was  at  its  height, 
tivity  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixth 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  AUT  305 

enough  of  other  men's  writings  uoiihl  rcniain  to  distinguish 
his  age  as  extraordinarily  fertile  in  literary  aehievenicnt. 

The  reniarkahle  drama,,  entitled  The  L'ttth;  ('Iciy  Cart,  one  Litcra- 
of  the  most  interesting  of  Indian  plays,  is  now  l)elie\e(l  to  '"^*'' 
date  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  if  not  from  an  carliir 
time.  Another  equally  reniarkahle  play,  the  Mitdrd-Jinkshusd, 
which  tells  the  story  of  the  usurpation  of  the  crown  hy 
Chandragupta  Maurya,  prol)al)ly  is  at  least  (juite  as  ol<l. 
Professor  Hillehrandt  is  inclined  to  assign  its  composition 
to  the  reign  of  Chandra-gupta  II  (c.  a.d.  400). 

The  VCiyu  Parana,  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  eighteen 
Puranas,  clearly  should  be  attributed  in  its  existing  form  to 
the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century,  and  the  Laws  of  Manu, 
us  we  now  know  the  book,  may  he  dated  from  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Gupta  period.  Without  going  further  into 
detail,  and  so  trespassing  on  the  domain  of  the  historian  of 
Sanskrit  literature,  it  may  suffice  to  cite  Professor  R.  G. 
Bhandarkar's  observation  that  the  period  was  distinguished 
by  'a  general  literary  impulse',  the  effects  of  which  were 
visible  in  poetry,  as  well  as  in  law  books  and  many  other 
forms  of  literature. 

In  the  field  of  mathematical  and  astronomical  science  the  Science. 
Gupta  age  is  adorned  by  the  illustrious  names  of  Arjabhata 
(born  A.  D.  476)  and  Varahamihira  (died  a.d.  587).  Mr.  Kaye, 
a  competent  authority,  holds  that  *  the  period  when  mathe- 
matics flourished  in  India  commenced  about  a.d.  400  and 
ended  about  a.d.  650,  after  which  deterioration  set  in.' 

We  have  seen  how  Samudragupta  practised  and  encouraged  Art; 
music.  The  other  arts,  too,  shared  the  favour  of  the  Gupta  '^^^^^^  ^^' 
kings  and  prospered  under  their  intelligent  patronage.  The 
accident  that  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Gupta  empire  Mas 
repeatedly  overrun  and  permanently  occupied  by  Muslim 
armies,  which  rarely  spared  a  Hindu  building,  accounts  for 
the  destruction  of  almost  all  large  edifices  of  the  Gupta  age. 
But  the  researches  of  recent  years  have  disclosed  abundant 
evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  numerous  magnificent 
buildings,  both  Buddhist  and  Brahmanical,  which  had  been 
erected  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries.     A  few  specimens  of 


306  THE   GUPTA   EMPIRE 

architectural  compositions  on  a  considerable  scale  may  still 
be  seen  in  out-of-the-way  places,  which  lay  apart  from  the 
track  of  the  hosts  of  Islam,  and  the  surviving  miniature 
shrines  of  the  period  are  fairly  numerous.  Enough  is  known 
to  justify  the  assertion  that  the  art  of  architecture  was 
practised  on  a  large  scale  with  eminent  success. 
Sculpture,  The  allied  art  of  sculpture,  usually  cultivated  in  India  as 
and  dk>'  '"^^  accessory  to  architecture,  attained  a  degree  of  perfection 
cutting,  not  recognized  until  recently.  The  best  examples,  indeed, 
are  so  good  that  they  may  fairly  claim  the  highest  rank 
among  the  efforts  of  Indian  sculptors.  Painting,  as  exem- 
plified by  some  of  the  best  frescoes  at  Ajanta  and  the  cognate 
works  at  Sigiriya  in  Ceylon  (a.d.  479-97),  was  practised 
with  equal,  or,  perhaps,  greater  success.  Certain  gold  Gupta 
coins  are  the  only  pieces  issued  by  Hindu  kings  entitled  to 
rank  as  works  of  art. 
Causes  of  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  the  rule  of  the  able  and  long- 
viTv^oVthe  ^'^^'^  monarchs  of  the  Gupta  dynasty  coincided  with  an 
Gupta  extraordinary  outburst  of  intellectual  activity  of  all  kinds. 
The  personal  patronage  of  the  kings  no  doubt  had  much 
effect,  but  deeper  causes  must  have  been  at  work  to  produce 
such  results.  Experience  proves  that  the  contact  or  collision 
of  diverse  modes  of  civilization  is  the  most  potent  stimulus 
to  intellectual  and  artistic  progress,  and,  in  my  opinion,  the 
eminent  achievements  of  the  Gupta  period  are  mainly  due  to 
such  contact  with  foreign  civilizations,  both  on  the  east  and 
on  the  west.  The  evidence  as  to  the  constant  interchange 
of  communications  with  China  is  abundant^  and  although  the 
external  testimony  to  intercourse  with  the  Roman  empire  is 
less  copious,  the  fact  of  such  intercourse  is  indisputable. 
The  conquest  of  Malwa  and  Surashtra  or  Kathiawar  by 
Chandra-gupta  II  Vikramaditya,  towards  the  close  of  the 
fourth  century  opened  up  ways  of  communication  between 
Upper  India  and  western  lands  which  gave  facilities  for  the 
reception  of  European  ideas.  The  influence  of  the  Alexan- 
drian schools  on  the  astronomy  of  Aryabhata  is  undoubted, 
and  the  imitation  of  Roman  coins  by  Gupta  kings  is  equally 
obvious.     In  art  and  literature  the  proof  of  the  action  of 


RELIGION 


307 


foreign  influence  is  necessarily  more  difticult,  I)ut  in  my 
judgement  the  reality  of  that  action  is  well  established.  It 
is  difficult,  for  instance,  to  deny  the  relationship  between  the 
sculpture  of  the  Sleeping  Vishnu  at  Deogarh  and  the  class 
of  Graeco-Roman  works  represented  by  the  Endymion  at 
Stockholm.  It  is  impossible  to  pursue  the  subject  further  in 
this  place,  but  the  references  in  the  note  will  enable  any 
inquirer  interested  to  follow  up  the  cumulative  proofs  that 
the  remarkable  intellectual  and  artistic  output  of  the  Gupta 
period  was  produced  in  large  measure  by  reason  of  the  contact 
between  the  civilization  of  India  and  that  of  the  Roman 
empire.  Some  critics  have  thought  that  Chinese  ideas  may 
be  traced  in  the  Ajanta  frescoes,  and  they  may  be  right. ^ 

Comparison  of   the  notes  recorded  by  Fa-hien,  the  first  Religion. 
Chinese  pilgrim,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth,  and  by  his 
great  successor,  Hiuen  Tsang,  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventh 
century,  proves   beyond  question    that    Buddhism   suffered 
a  gradual  decay  during  the  Gupta  period.     But  that  decay 


1  The  date  of  the  Little  Clay 
Cart  {Mrich-chhakatlkd)  is  un- 
known. Prof.  S.  Levi  guesses  that 
it  may  be  posterior  to  KaUdasa 
{Theatre  Indien,  p.  208).  I  am  dis- 
posed to  follow  older  authors  in 
assigning  an  earlier  date.  See 
transl.  by  Ryder  in  Harvard  Or. 
Ser.  Concerning  the  date  of  the 
Mudrd-Rdkshtsa,  see  Haes,  ed. 
and  transl.,  p.  3!)  (Columbia  Univ. 
Press,  N.  Y.,  191-2 j;  Hillebrandt, 
'  Ueber  das  Kaidiliya-mstra.  and 
Verwandtes '  \S6.  JaJiresber.  der 
Sclilesischen  Genellschaft  fiir  valerl. 
Cultur,  July,  1908,  p.  29 ;  Tawney 
in  /.  11.  A.  S.,  1908,  p.  910;  1909, 
p.  147.  For  the  age  of  the  Puranas 
see  detailed  discussion  in  Mr.  Par- 
giter's  book.  The  Dynasties  of  the 
Kali  Aye,  and  App.  A,  ante,  p.  2-2. 

Mr.  Kaye's  observations  on  the 
relations  between  Indian  and  Greek 
mathematical  science  will  be  found 
in  /.  11.  A.  S.,  1910,  p.  759  ;  and 
/.  c^-.  Froc.  A.  S.  B.,  1911,  p.  813. 

For  questions  concerning  art  and 
architecture,  see  A  History  of  Fine 
Art  in  India  and  Ceylon,  and  the 
references  given  in  that  work. 


The  references  to  communica- 
tions between  India  and  China  are 
collected  in  Duff,  The  Chronolog)/ 
of  India,  1899.  The  Raja  of  the 
Ka-p'i-li  country  sent  an  embassy 
in  A.D.  428  (Watters,  ./.  li.  A.  S., 
1898,  p.  .540).  Embassies,  some 
probably  only  commercial  ventures, 
number  six  from  502  to  515,  There 
were  also  many  journeys  of  pil- 
grims and  missionaries. 

For  communications  with  the 
Roman  empire,  see  Priaulx,  Indian 
Embassies  to  Home  (bound  with 
ApoUonius  of  Tyana\  Quaritch, 
1873 ;  Reinaud,  lielalions  noliti- 
(jiies  et  commerciales  de  I'LmjiIre 
Komain  avec  I'Asie  ori^ntale  ;  and 
Duff,  op.  cit. 

The  Roman  influence  on  the 
Gupta  coinage  is  discussed  in  my 
'  Coinage  of  the  Early  or  Imperial 
Gupta  dynasty,' /.  7'.  v/.  ^'.,  1S89. 
See  also  Sewell,  'Roman  Coins 
found  in  India,'  ibid.,  1904,  pp. 
591-637.  The  recently  discovered 
Gupta  Buddhist  monasteries  at 
Sarnath,  Kasia,  &c.,  are  described 
in  the  Aiinnal  liefiorts  of  the 
Archaeol.  SuiTcy,  since  1902-3. 

2 


308  THE   GUPTA   EMPIRE 

A\as  hardly  discernible  by  people  living  in  those  ages^  wlio 
saw  a  powerful  and  wealthy  monastic  order  continuously 
M'ielding  immense  influence  and  housed  in  splendid  convents. 
The  discovery  of  the  numerous  remains  of  magnificent  Bud- 
dhist monasteries  of  Gupta  age  has  been  one  of  the  surprises 
of  archaeological  research.  The  Gupta  kings,  although 
ofticially  Brahmanical  Hindus  with  a  special  devotion  to 
A'ishnu,  followed  the  usual  practice  of  ancient  India  in 
looking  with  a  favourable  eye  on  all  varieties  of  Indian 
religion.  The  first  Chandra-gupta,  who  had  been  a  follower 
of  the  Sankhya  philosophy,  afterwards  listened  with  convic- 
tion to  the  arguments  of  Vasubandhu,  the  Buddhist  sage, 
to  wliose  instruction  he  commended  his  son  and  heir,  Samu- 
dragupta.  At  a  later  time,  Naragupta  Baladitya,  who  erected 
handsome  buildings  at  Nalanda,  the  ecclesiastical  capital  of 
the  church,  Mas  regarded  by  Hiuen  Tsang  as  having  been 
a  fervent  Buddhist.^ 
The  Push-  The  golden  age  of  the  Guptas  comprised  a  period  of 
a  century  and  a  quarter  (a.  d.  330-455),  covered  by  three 
reigns  of  exceptional  length.  The  death  of  Kumaragupta  I, 
Avhich  can  be  fixed  definitely  as  having  occurred  early  in  455, 
marks  the  beginning  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  empire. 
Even  before  his  death,  his  kingdom  had  become  involved, 
about  the  year  450,  in  serious  distress  by  a  war  with  a  rich 
and  powerful  nation  named  Pushyamitra,  otherwise  almost 
unknown  to  historj-.^  The  imperial  armies  were  defeated, 
and  the  shock  of  military  disaster  had  endangered  the 
stability  of  the  dynasty,  which  Avas  'tottering'  to  its  fall, 
when  the  energy  and  ability  of  Skandagupta,  the  Crowji 
Prince,  restored  the  fortunes  of  his  family  by  effecting  the 
overthrow  of  the  enemy.  A  small  detail  recorded  by  the 
contemporary  document  indicates  the  severity  of  the  struggle  ; 
for  Ave   are   told  that  the  heir-apparent,  while  preparing  to 

'  See  Appendix  N, 'Vasubandhu  mitras    among   the  miscellaneous 

and  the  Guptas.'  dynasties,  apparently  foreign,  who 

^  Conjectured  by  Fleet  (/nd  ^in^  arc    enumerated    just    before    the 

xviii,  228)  to  belong  to  the  region  passage    relating    to    the    Guptas 

of  the  Narmada  ;   but,  more  prob-  (Pargiter,    Jjynanlies    of  the    Kali 

ably,  in   the  north.     The  Puranas  A(/e,  p,  73j. 
mention   Pushyamitras   and  Patu- 


yamitra 
war 


DKFKAT  OF  TIIF   IIUXS  300 

retrieve  the  calamities  of  his   house,   was  ohligcd   to   s[)(ii(l 
a  night  sleeping  on  the  bare  ground. 

When  Skandagupta  came  to  the  throne,  in  the  spring  of  Defeat 
455,  he  encountered  a  sea  of  troubles.  The  Pushyamitra  Huns, 
danger  had  been  averted,  but  one  more  formidable  closely 
followed  it,  an  irruption  of  the  savage  Huns,  who  had 
poured  dow-n  from  the  steppes  of  Central  Asia  through  the 
north-western  passes,  and  carried  devastation  over  the  smiling 
plains  and  crowded  cities  of  India.  Skandagupta,  who  prob- 
ably was  a  man  of  mature  years  and  ripe  experience,  proved 
equal  to  the  need,  and  inflicted  upon  the  barbarians  a  defeat 
so  decisive  that  India  was  saved  for  a  time.  His  mother 
still  lived,  and  to  her  the  hero  hastened  with  the  news  of 
his  victorj',  ^just  as  Krishna,  when  he  had  slain  his  enemies, 
betook  himself  to  his  mother  Devaki.'  Having  thus  paid 
his  duty  to  his  living  parent,  the  king  sought  to  enhance 
the  religious  merit  of  his  deceased  father  by  the  erection  of  a 
pillar  of  victory,  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  the  god  \'^ishmi, 
and  inscribed  with  an  account  of  the  delivery  of  his  country 
from  barbarian  tyranny  through  the  protection  of  the  gods.^ 

It  is  evident  that  this  great  victory  over  the  Huns  must  The 
have  been  gained  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  new  reign  ;  "^oyf,"^ 
because  another  inscription,  executed  in  the  year  458,  recites 
Skandagupta's  defeat  of  the  barbarians,  and  recognizes  his 
undisputed  possession  of  the  peninsula  of  Surashtra  (Kathia- 
M'ar),  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  empire.  The  king  had 
appointed  as  viceroy  of  the  west  an  officer  named  Parnadatta, 
the  possessor  of  all  the  virtues,  according  to  the  official  poet ; 
and  the  viceroy  gave  the  responsible  post  of  governor  of  the 
capital  city,  Junagarh,  to  his  own  son,  who  distinguished 
his  tenure  of  office  by  rebuilding  the  ancient  embankment  of 
the  lake  under  the  Girnar  hill,  which  had  again  burst  with 
disastrous  results  in   the  year  of  Skandagupta's  accession. 

'  The    column    still    stands    at  which  records  the  events  related  in 

BhitarT,  in  the  GhazTpur  District,  to  the  text,  has  been  edited  and  trans- 

the  east  of  Benares,  but  the  statue  lated  by  Fleet  [C'upfii  lu^crijjtKus, 

has      disappeared      (^Cunningham,  No.  13\   The  allusion  to  the  Krishna 

Archaeol.    Rep.,  vol.    i,  pi.  xxix},  legend   is   interesting.     See   J.  Ji. 

The    inscription    on    the    column,  A.  S.,  1907,  p.  976. 


310  THE    GUPTA   EMPIRE 

The  benevolent  work  was  completed  in  the  following  year, 
and   consecrated  a  year  later  by  the  erection  of   a   costly 
temple  of  Vishnu.^ 
The  The  dedication  three  years  afterwards  by  a  private  Jain 

provinces,  donor  of  a  sculptured  column  at  a  village  in  the  east  of  the 
Gorakhpur  district,  distant  about  90  miles  from  Patna, 
testifies  to  the  fact  that  Skandagupta^s  rule  at  this  early 
period  of  his  reign  included  the  eastern  as  well  as  the 
M'estern  provinces.^ 
Tlie  Five  }  ears  later,  in  the  year  465,  the  dedication  of  a  temple 

provinces,  to  the  Sun,  in  the  country  between  the  Ganges  and  Jumna 
now  known  as  the  Bulandshahr  District,  made  by  a  piovis 
Brahman  in  the  reign  of  Skandagupta,  described  in  the 
customary  language  as  '  augmenting  and  victorious ',  indicates 
tliat  the  central  portion  of  the  empire  also  enjoyed  a  settled 
government.^  The  conclusion  therefore  is  legitimate  that 
the  victory  over  the  barbarian  invaders  was  gained  at  the 
beginning  of  the  reign,  and  was  sufficiently  decisive  to  secure 
the  general  tranquillity  of  all  parts  of  the  empire  for  a  con- 
siderable number  of  years. 
c.  A.Ti.  But,  about  A.  D.  465,  a  fresh  swarm  of  nomads  poured 

Renewed  «^cross  the  frontier,  and  occupied  Gandhara,  or  the  north- 
Hun  m-  western  Pan  jab,  where  a  ^  cruel  and  vindictive'  chieftain 
usurped  the  throne  of  the  Kushans,  and  '  practised  the  most 
barbarous  atrocities'.*  A  little  later,  about  470,  the  Huns 
advanced  into  the  interior,  and  again  attacked  Skandagupta 
in  the  heart  of  his  dominions.  He  was  unable  to  continue 
the  successful  resistance  which  he  had  offered  in  the  earlier 
days  of  his  rule,  and  was  forced  at  last  to  succumb  to 
the  repeated  attacks  of  the  foreigners ;  who  were,  no  doubt, 
constantly  recruited  by  fresh  hordes  eager  for  the  plunder 
of  Iiulia. 

'   Ibid.,  No.  H;  ante,  p.  133.  nnme  'Laelih',  given  to  this  chief- 

-  Ibid.,  No.   1.5,  the  Kahaon  in-  tain  by  Beal,  who  has  been  copied 

scription.  by  Cunningham   and   many  other 

°  Ibid.,  No.  Ifi.  writers,  is  purely  fictitious,  and  due 

*  Sung-yim  or  Song  Yun, Chinese  to  a  misreading  of  the  Turkish  title 

pilgrim,  A.n.  520,  in  Beal,  Records,  Ugln  (Chavannes,  Les  Twos  Occi- 

voi.  i,  p.  c,  and  Chavannes's  revised  duntaux,  p.  225  note). 

version    (Hanoi,    1903).      But    the 


vasion. 


PURAGUPTA  311 

The   financial   distress    of    Skaiidacjupta's    administration  Dfbasc-    . 
is  plainly  indicated  by  the  abrupt  debasement  of  the  coin-  thc"cur- 
age  in  his  latter  years.     The  gold   coins   of   his   early   and  rcncy. 
prosperous  days  agree  in  both  weight  and  fineness  with  those 
of   his  ancestors,   but   the    later    issues,    while    increased    in 
gross  weight,  so  as  to  suit  the  ancient  Hindu  standard  of 
the  suvarna,  exhibit  a  decline  in  the  amount  of  p\ire  gold  in 
each  piece  from  108  to  73  grains.^    This  marked  lowering 
of  the  purity  of  the  currency,  which  was  accompanied  by 
a   corresponding  degradation   in   the    design    and    execution 
of  the  dies,  evidently  was  caused  by  the  difficulty  which  the 
treasury  experienced  in  meeting  the  cost  of  the  Ilun  war. 

The  death  of  Skandagupta,  who  assumed  the  title  Vikrama-  «jA.d.  48o. 
ditya  like  so  many  Indian  kings,  may  be  assumed  to  have  gupta,  ace. 
occurred  in  or  about  the  year  480.  When  he  passed  away, 
the  empire  perished,  but  the  dynasty  remained,  and  was 
continued  in  the  eastern  provinces  for  several  generations. 
Skanda  left  no  heir  male  capable  of  undertaking  tiie  cares 
of  government  in  a  time  of  such  stress,  and  was  accordingly 
succeeded  on  the  throne  of  Magadha  and  the  adjacent  dis- 
ti'icts  by  his  brother,  Puragupta,  the  son  of  Kumaragupta  I 
by  Queen  Ananda. 

The  reign  of  this  prince  apparently  was  very  brief,  and  Reform  of 
the  only  event  which  can  be  assigned  to  it  is  a  bold  attempt 
to  restore  the  purity  of  the  coinage.  The  rare  gold  coins, 
bearing  on  the  reverse  the  title  Prakasaditya,  which  are 
generally  asci'ibed  to  Puragupta,  although  retaining  the 
gross  weight  of  the  heavy  svvarna,  contain  each  121  grains 
of  pure  gold,  and  are  thus  equal  in  value  to  the  aio'ei  of 
Augustus,  and  superior  in  intrinsic  value  to  the  best  Kuslian 
or  early  Gupta  coins. ^ 

Puragupta  was  succeeded,   about  a.  d.   485,  by  his  son  j^'^^"*  ^^ 

'  The  earlier   Gupta   coins,   like  ciling  the  testimony  of  the  inscrip- 

the   Kushan,  are   Roman  cnirei  m  tion  on  the  Bhitarlseal  (7.  ^/.iS'./i. , 

weight  and  to  some  extent  in  design.  vol.  Iviii,  part  i,  pp    84-  l('5i  wilii 

The  later  pieces  are  Hindu  v«ro»"«a*,  that  of  other  records  is  best  solvtd 

intended  to  weigh  about  146  grains  in  the  manner  stated  in  tlie  text. 

(9J  grammes)  each,  and  are  coarse  For  assays  of  the  gold  coins   see 

in  device  and  execution.  Cunningham,  Coins  of  Med.  Jndia, 

^  An  admitted  difficulty  in  recon-  p.  16, 


312 


THE   GUPTA   EMPIRE 


Nara- 
siriiha- 
gupta 
Baladitya, 


r.  A.D.  515. 
Kumara- 
gupta  II. 


The  Later 
Guptas  of 
Magadha ; 
the  Mau- 
kharis. 


Chinese 
Buddhist 


Narasiinliagupta  Baladitya,  who  gave  public  proof  of  his 
partiaHty  for  Buddhism  by  building  at  Nalanda,  in  Magadha, 
the  principal  seat  of  Buddhist  learning  in  Northern  India, 
a  brick  temple  more  than  300  feet  high,  according  to  Hiuen 
Tsang,  which  was  remarkable  for  the  delicacy  of  its  decora- 
tions and  the  lavish  use  of  gold  and  gems  in  its  furniture.^ 
The  vigorous  and  successful  action  taken  by  Baladitya  to 
resist  the  tyranny  of  the  Huns  will  be  described  presently. 

Narasimhagupta  Baladitya  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Kumaragupta  II,  to  whose  time  the  fine  seal  of  alloyed  silver 
found  at  Bhitarl  in  the  Ghazlpur  District  belongs.^  The 
events  of  his  reign,  which  seems  to  have  ended  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century,  are  not  recorded.  So  far  as  is 
known,  the  line  of  the  imperial  Guptas  terminates  with 
Kumaragupta  II.  His  dominions,  like  those  of  his  father 
and  grandfather,  evidently  Mere  restricted  to  the  eastern 
provinces  of  the  empire  of  his  earlier  ancestors. 

The  imperial  line  passes  by  an  obscure  transition  into 
a  dynasty  comprising  eleven  Gupta  princes,  who  appear  to 
have  been  for  the  most  part  merely  local  rulers  in  Magadha. 
These  'Later  Guptas  of  Magadha^,  as  they  are  called  by 
archaeologists,  shared  the  rule  of  that  province  with  another 
dynasty  of  Rajas,  who  had  names  ending  in  -varman,  and 
belonged  to  a  clan  called  Maukhari.  The  territorial  division 
between  the  two  dynasties  cannot  be  defined  precisely.  Their 
relations  with  one  another  were  sometimes  friendlj^  and  some- 
times hostile,  but  the  few  details  known  are  of  little  im- 
portance." 

The  political  decadence  of  Magadha  never  affected  the 
reputation  of  the  kingdom  as  the  centre  and  head-quarters  of 
Buddhist  learning,  which  continued  to  be  cultivated  sedulously 


*  Chavannes,  lieligieux  iminents, 
p.  94;  Waiters,  ii,  170;  Beal,  ii, 
173. 

Nalanda  is  now  known  as  Bar- 
gaon  (not  Baragaon),  which  is 
simply  a  modern  name,  meaning 
'  village  with  a  conspicuous  ban- 
yan tree',  which  stands  there.  Such 
names   are  extremely    common  in 


N.  India  (Bloch  in  ./.  R.  A.  S.,  1909, 
p.  440). 

^  J.  A.  S.  B.,  part  i,  vol.  Iviii 
(1H89),  pi.  vi. 

^  For  these  dynasties  see  Fleet, 
G'upta  Inscriptions,  and  Dr. 
Hoernle's  observations  on  the 
Bhitarl  seal.  For  Maukhari  coins, 
see  Burn.  J.  II.  A.  S.,  1906,  p.  843. 


MISSION  OF  PAKAMARTIIA  313 

at  Xalaiulfi  and  other  places  \iiuler  the  Pala  kini^s  up  to  the 
time  of  the  Muliainmadan  coiujuest  at  the  close  of  the  twelfth 
century^  when  the  monasteries  with  their  well-stocked 
libraries  were  reduced  to  ashes,  A  good  illustration  of  the 
reverence  with  which  the  Buddhist  Holy  Land  continued  to 
be  regarded  in  the  latter  Gupta  age  by  foreign  students  of 
the  doctrine  of  Gautama  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that,  in  tlic 
year  a.d.  539,  AVu-ti,  or  Hsiao  Yen,  the  first  Liang  enqx-roi- 
of  China  and  an  ardent  Buddhist,  sent  a  mission  to  Magadha 
for  the  purpose  of  collecting  original  Mahayanist  texts  antl 
obtaining  the  services  of  a  scholar  competent  to  translate 
them.  The  local  king,  probably  either  Jivitagupta  I  or 
Kumaragupta,  gladly  complied  with  the  wishes  of  his  im- 
perial correspondent,  and  placed  tlie  learned  Paramrirtha  at 
the  disposal  of  the  mission,  which  seems  to  have  spent 
several  years  in  India.  Paramartha  then  went  to  China, 
taking  M'ith  him  a  large  collection  of  manuscripts,  many  of 
which  he  translated.  He  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Canton  in  a.d.  546,  was  presented  to  the  emperor  in  548, 
and  died  in  China  in  569,  at  the  age  of  seventy.  It  was  in 
the  reign  of  the  same  emperor  (502-49)  that  Bodhidharma, 
the  son  of  a  king  in  Southern  India,  and  reckoned  as  the 
twenty-eighth  Indian  and  first  Chinese  patriarch,  came  to 
China  in  a.  d.  520,  and  after  a  short  stay  at  Canton,  settled 
at  Lo  Yang.  His  miracles  are  a  favourite  subject  of  Chinese 
artists.^ 

The   most  notable  member  of  the  Later  Gupta  dynasty  Aditya- 
was  Adityasena,   who  asserted  his  independence  after   the  j,vita- 
death  of  the  paramount  sovereign,  Harsha,  in  a.  u.  647,  and  gi'pt^  II. 
even  presumed  to  celebrate  the  horse-sacrifice  in  token  of  his 
claim  to  supreme  rank.    The  last  known  Raja  of  the  dynasty 
was  Jivitagupta  II,  who  reigned  early  in  the  eighth  century. 
About  the  end  of  that  century,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth,  Magadha  passed  under  the  sway  of  the  Pala  kings  of 
Bengal,  whose  history  will  be  noticed  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

In    the  western   province   of   Malwa   we  find  records  ofA.  d.  48^ 
Rajas  named  Budhagupta  and  Bhanugupta,  who  cover  the 
1  Bushell,  Chinese  Art,  i,  24. 


314  THE   GUPTA   EMPIRE 

Budha-  period  from  484  to  510,  and  evidently  were  the  heirs  of 
giipta  and  Skandagupta  in  that  region.  But  the  latter  of  these  two 
gupta.        princes,  at  all  events,  occupied  a  dependent  position  and 

presumably  was  subordinate  to  the  Hun  chieftains. 
Dynasty  Towards  the  close  of  the  fifth  century,  a  chief  named 
l^]^y^^'  Bliatarka,  who  belonged  to  a  clan  called  Maitraka^,  probably 
of  foreign  origin,  established  himself  at  Valabhi  in  the  east 
of  the  peninsula  of  Surashtra  (Kathiawar),  and  founded  a 
dynasty  which  lasted  until  about  a.  d.  770,  when  it  is 
supposed  to  have  been  overthrown  by  Arab  invaders  from 
Sind.  The  earlier  kings  of  Valabhi  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  independent,  and  were  doubtless  obliged  to  pay  tribute 
to  the  Huns;  but,  after  the  destruction  of  the  Hun  domina- 
tion, the  lords  of  Valabhi  asserted  their  independence,  and 
made  themselves  a  considerable  power  in  the  west  of  India, 
both  on  the  mainland  and  in  the  peninsula  of  Surashtra.  The 
city  was  a  place  of  great  wealth  when  visited  by  Hiuen 
Tsang  in  the  seventh  century,  and  was  famous  in  Buddhist 
church  history  as  having  been  the  residence  of  two  dis- 
tinguished teachers,  Gunamati  and  Sthiramati,  in  the  sixth 
century.  I-tsing,  a  junior  contemporary  of  Hiuen  Tsang, 
tells  us  that  in  his  time  Nalanda  in  South  Bihar  and  Valabhi 
were  the  two  places  in  India  which  deserved  comparison  with 
the  most  famous  centres  of  learning  in  China,  and  were  fre- 
quented by  crowds  of  eager  students,  who  commonly  devoted 
two  or  three  years  to  attendance  at  lectures  on  Buddhist 
philosophy.  This  statement  explains  the  assertion  of  Hiuen 
Tsang  tliat  Mo-la-p'o,  or  Western  Malava,  and  Magadha 
were  the  two  countries  of  India  in  which  learning  was  prized, 
because  Valabhi  and  Mo-la-p*o  were  then  politically  one, 
both  territories  apparently  being  under  the  government  of 
Dhruvabhata,  the  son-in-law  of  King  Harsha,  paramount 
sovereign  of  Northern  India.  After  the  overthrow  of  Valabhi, 
its  place  as  the  chief  city  of  Western  India  was  taken  by 
Anhihvara    (Nahrwalah,    or    Patau),    which    retained    that 

'  Hultzsdi,  J'Jp.  Ind.,  iii,  320;  form  of  the  name  is  Bhatakka. 
correcting  earlier  interpretations.  Bhatarka  is  a  Sanskrit ized  spelling 
The   original   and  more   authentic       (/i^J.  Ind.,  xi(1913),  p.  105). 


THE  HUNS  815 

honour  until  the  fifteenth  centvny,  when  if  was  superseded 
by  Ahmadabad.^  The  above  observations  will,  perhaps, 
be  sufficient  to  give  the  reader  a  notion  of  the  way  in  wiiich 
some  of  the  fragments  of  the  Gupta  empire  were  apportioned 
among  various  native  dynasties. 

But  the  Huns,  the  foreign  savages  mIio  shattered   that  Two 
empire,  and  dominated  a  large  part  of  it  for  a  short  period,  pj^ij^ 
merit   more   explicit  notice.     The  nomad  tribes   known   as  migration. 
Huns,  when  they  moved  westwards  from  the  steppes  of  Asia 
to   seek   subsistence  for  their  hungry  multitudes  in  other 
climes,  divided  into  two  main  streams,  one  directed  towards 
the  valley  of  the  Oxus,  and  the  other  to  that  of  the  Volga. 

The  latter  poured  into  Eastern  Europe  in  a.d.  375,  forcing  The  Huns 
the  Goths  to  the  south  of  the  Danube,  and  thus  indirectly  AtHla°^^' 
causing  the  sanguinary  Gothic  war,  which  cost  the  Emperor 
Valens  his  life  in  a.  d.  378.  The  Huns  quickly  spread  over 
the  lands  between  the  Volga  and  the  Danube;  but,  owing 
to  chronic  disunion  and  the  lack  of  a  great  leader,  failed 
to  make  full  use  of  their  advantageous  position  until  Attila 
appeared,  and  for  a  few  years  welded  the  savage  mass  into 
an  instrument  of  such  power  that  he  was  ^  able  to  send  equal 
defiance  to  the  courts  of  Ravenna  and  Constantinople '." 

His  death,  in  a.  d.  453,  severed  the  only  bond  which  held  c.  a.d.  4T0. 
together  the  jealous  factions  of  the  horde,  and  within  a  space 
of   twenty   years    after   that   event   the    Hunnic   empire  in 
Europe  was  extinguished  by  a  fresh  torrent  of  barbarians 
from  Northern  Asia. 

The  Asiatic  domination  of  the  Huns  lasted  longer.     The  a.  d. 

section  of  the  horde  settled  in  the  Oxus  valley,  and  perhaps  -yvhite 

different  in  race,  became  known  as  the  Ephthalites  or  White  Huns  of 
'  ^  Oxus 

valley. 

1  The  ruins  of  Valabhl  at  Wala,  p.  11  {Ep.  Ind.,vo\.  viii,  April,  1905). 

18    or     20    miles     north-west    of  For  approximate  date  of  destruction 

Bhaonagar,    are     mostly     under-  of  Valabhl  see  Burgess, -4. <S.  IK./,, 

ground.     The  history  is  given  bv  vol.  vi,  p.  3;    vol.  ix,  p.    4.     But 

Burgess   in   A.  S.   W.  I.,   vol.    ii,  certain   traditions   assert  that  the 

(1876),  pp.  80-6;  and  by  Bhagwan  city  was  destroyed  by  Gujars  from 

Lai  Indraji  and  Jackson  in  Bomb.  Sind   (/,  A.  S.  B.,   pt.    i.   vol.   Iv 

Gaz.  (1896  ,vol.  i,  part  i,  pp.  78-106.  (1886),  p.  181).     Barodia   Jainism, 

The  latest  dynastic  list  is  that  in  p.    6.5\    dates    the   destruction   in 

Kielhorn's    'Supplement    to    List  a.d.  524. 
of  Northern  Inscriptions',  App.  B,  *  Gibbon,  ch.  xxxv. 


.V 


316  THE   WHITE    HUNS 

Huns,  aiul  gradually  overcame  the  resistance  of  Persia,  which 
ceased  when  King  Firo/  was  killed  in  a.  d.  484.  Swarms  of 
these  White  Huns  also  assailed  the  Kushan  kingdom  of 
Kabul,  and  tiience  poured  into  India.  The  attack  repelled 
by  Skandagupta  in  a.d.  455  must  hixve  been  delivered  by 
a  comparatively  weak  bod)',  which  arrived  early,  and  failed 
to  effect  a  lodgement  in  the  interior.^ 
A.  D.  500.  About  ten  years  later  the  nomads,  having  appeared  in 
liiana.  greater  force,  overwhelmed  the  kingdom  of  Gandhara,  or 
Peshawar;  and  starting  from  that  base,  as  already  related, 
penetrated  into  the  heart  of  the  Gangetic  provinces,  and 
overthrew  the  Gupta  empire.^  The  collapse  of  Persian 
opposition  in  484  must  have  greatly  facilitated  the  eastern 
movement  of  the  horde,  and  allowed  immense  multitudes 
to  cross  the  Indian  frontier.  The  leader  in  this  invasion  of 
India,  which,  no  doubt,  continued  for  years,  was  a  chieftain 
named  Toramana,  who  is  known  to  have  been  established 
as  ruler  of  Malwa  in  Central  India  prior  to  a.d.  500.  He 
assumed  the  style  and  titles  of  an  Indian  '  sovereign  of 
miVnlrajas ' ;  and  Bhaniigupta,  as  well  as  the  king  of 
Valabhi  and  many  other  local  princes,  must  have  been  his 
tributaries.^ 
r-.  A.D.  510.  When  Toramana  died,  about  a.d.  510,  the  Indian 
gula,  ace.  dominion  which  he  had  acquired  was  consolidated  sufficiently 
to  pass  to  his  son  Miliiragula,  whose  capital  in  India  was 
Sakala,  the  modern  Siillkot,  in  the  Panjab.'* 

»  Hoernle  (/.  A'.  A.  S.,  1909,  p.  <  Ep.  fnd.,  i,  238^  ;  and  ',3)  atGwa- 

128^  denies  the  reality  of  the  Hun  lior.   Central   India,  dated   in   the 

invasion  at  the  beginnin{>:  of  Skan-  fifteenth  year  of  Mihiragula,  son  of 

dagupta's  reign,  and  dates  the  Bhi-  Toramana     Fleet,    No.    37  .     The 

tarl  inscription  as  late  as  468.     But  silver   coins   of   Toramana,   which 

for  the  reasons  stated   anic,  p.  309)  imitate  the  Surashtran  coins  of  the 

I  tliink  that  inscription  must  have  western   satraps   and   Guptas,  are 

been  recorded  quite   early   in   the  dated  in   the   year  52,  apparently 

reign.     It  mentions  defeats  of  botli  reckoned  from  a  special  Hun  era, 

the  Pushyamitras  and  the  Huns.  probably  begining  about  a.d.  4-t8 

-'  Avte,  p.  308.  {J.  A.  S.  U.,  vol.  Ixiii,  part  i  (1894), 

^  Three  inscriptions  naming  Tora-  p.  195% 

raana  are  known:    namely,     1)  at  *  The   name  of  Mihiragula  also 

t-'ran,    in    Sagar   district.    Central  appears  in  the  Sanskritized  form  of 

Provinces,  dated   in  tiie  first  year  Mihirakula.     His  coins  are  numer- 

of  his  reign    Fleet,  Onpta   Inner.,  ous  at  Chiniot  and  Shahkot,  situ- 

No.  3(i   ;     2j  at  Kura  in   the   Salt  ated  respectively  in  the  Jhang  and 

Range,  of  which  the  date  is  lost  Gujranwala  Districts  of  the  Panjab. 


MIHIRAGULA  817 

Indiu    at  this   time   was  only  one   province  of  the   HunKxlentof 
empire.     The  head-quarters   of  the  horde  were  at  Bamyin  p,""^,.  \,^ 
in   Badhaghis  near   Herat,  and   the  ancient   city  of  BalUh  Asia. 
served  as  a  secondary  capital.^     Tiie   II un   king,  to  whose 
court,  whetlier  at  Bamyin  or  Herat  cannot  be  determined, 
Song-Yun,  the  Chinese  pilgrim-envoy,  paid  a  visit  in  a.d.  519, 
^vas  a  powerful  monarch  levying  tribute  from  forty  countries, 
extending  from  the  frontier  of  Persia,  on  the  west,  to  Khotan 
on  the  borders  of  China  in  the  east.     This  king  was  either 
Mihiragula   himself,   or    his    contemporary   overlord,    more 
probably  the  latter.     The  local  Hun  king  of  Gandhara,  to 
whom   Song-Yun  paid   his  respects  in  the  following  year, 
A.D.  520,  must  be  identified  witii  Mihiragula.     He  was  then 
engaged  in  a  war  with  the  king  of  Kashmir  (Ki-pin),  which 
had  already  lasted  for  three  years.^ 

With  reference  apparently  to  the  same  date  approximately,  Golla:,. 
the  monk  Cosmas  Indicopleustes,  who  wrote  a  curious  book 
in  A.D.  547,  describes  a  White  Hun  king,  whom  he  calls 
Gollas,  as  being  lord  of  India,  from  which  he  exacted  tribute 
by  oppression,  enforcing  his  demands  with  the  aid  of  two 
thousand  war  elephants  and  a  great  host  of  cavalry.  This 
king,  Gollas,  certainly  must  have  been  Mihiraguhi.^ 

All  Indian  traditions  agree  in  representing  Mihiragula  as  Tyranny 
a  bloodthirsty  tyrant,  Hhe  Attila  of  India,'  stained  to  a  more  g^j^ 
than  ordinary  degree  Avith  the  '  implacable  cruelty  '  noted  bj' 
historians  as  characteristic  of  the  Hun  temperament.*  Indian 
authors  having  omitted  to  give  any  detailed  description  of 
the  savage  invaders  who  ruthlessly  oppressed  their  country 
for  three-quarters  of   a   century,  recourse   must   be   had  to 

The  coins  of  Toramana  and  Mihira-  Ki-pin  usually   signified   Kashmir, 

gula  are   fully  described  in  ./.  A.  In     the    seventh    century    Ki-pin 

S.B.,  1894,  part  i  ordinarily,  though    not  invariably, 

'  Chavannes,  Tiircn  Occklentaiu-,  meant    Kapisa,    or    North-eastern 

pp.    SSi,    ^22Q.      Gurgan    .Gorgo  ,  Afghanistan  Chavannes,  ^'onvl'/o/, 

often  asserted  to  be  the  Ephthalite  pp.  ^7,  3!)  . 

capital,  really  was  a  frontier  town  ■  iSIcCrindle's  translation    Hak- 

belonging   to    Persia    ^Chavannes,  luyt  Society,  1897  ,  p.  .597. 

op.  cit.,  pp.  223,  235  note  .  ■*  Hiuen  Tsang  ;    Jlrijatamngnu. 

■^  Baal,  Records,  vol.  i,  pp.  xci,  c.  The   Turushka   king  of   Taranath 

The  name  Lae-lih,  given  by  Beal,  Schiefner,  p.  94;  may  mean  Mihi- 

is,  as  already  noted,  fictitious   ante,  ragula. 
p.  310  n..   In  the  time  of  Song-Yun 


318  THE   WHITE   HUNS 

European  writers  to  obtain  a  picture  of  the  devastation 
wrought  and  the  terror  caused  to  settled  communities  by 
the  fierce  barbarians. 

Descrip-         The  original  accounts  are  well  summarized  by  Gibbon  : — 

tion  of  the 

"""^"  '  The  numbers,  the  strength,  the  rapid  motions,  and  the 

implacable  cruelty  of  the  Huns  were  felt,  and  dreaded,  and 
magnified  by  the  astonished  Goths;  who  beheld  their  fields 
and  villages  consumed  with  flames,  and  deluged  with  in- 
discriminate slaughter.  To  these  real  terrors,  they  added 
the  surprise  and  abhorrence  which  were  excited  by  the  shrill 
voice,  the  uncouth  gestures,  and  the  strange  deformity  of 
the  Huns.  .  .  .  They  were  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the 
human  species  by  their  broad  shoulders,  flat  noses,  and  small 
black  eyes  deeply  buried  in  the  head ;  and,  as  they  were 
almost  destitute  of  beards,  they  never  enjoyed  the  manly 
graces  of  youth  or  the  venerable  aspect  of  age.^  ^ 

The  Indians,  like  the  Goths,  experienced  to  the  full  the 
miseries  of  savage  warfare,  and  suffered  an  added  horror  by 
reason  of  the  special  disgust  felt  by  fastidious,  caste-bound 
Hindus    at   the   repulsive   habits   of    barbarians    to    whom 
nothing  was  sacred. 
r.A.D.528.      The  cruelty  practised  by  Mihiragula  became  so  unbearable 
Defeat  of  ^]y^^^  ^j^g  luitive  princes,  under  the  leadership  of  Baladitya, 
gula.  king   of    Magadha    (the    same    as    Narasimhagupta),    and 

Yasodharman,  a  Raja  of  Central  India,  appear  to  liave 
formed  a  confederacy  agauist  the  foreign  tyrant.  About 
the  year  a.  d.  528,  they  accomplished  the  delivery  of  their 
country  from  oppression  by  inflicting  a  decisive  defeat  on 
Mihiragula,  who  was  taken  prisoner,  and  would  have  for- 
feited his  life  deservedly,  but  for  the  magnanimity  of  Bala- 
ditya, who  spared  the  captive,  and  sent  him  to  his  home  in 
the  north  with  all  honour. 
Mihira-  Meanwhile,  Mihiragula's  younger  brother  had  taken  ad- 

gula  in       vantage  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  head  of  the  family  to  usurp 
Kashiuir.     ,,      ,,  r   c>-i     i  i  •    i    i  -n-  i 

the  tlu'one  oi  ibakala,  ^\•hlcll  he  was  unwillnig  to  surrender. 

Mihiragula,  after  spending  some  time  in  concealment,  took 

refuge  in  Kashmir,  where  he  was  kindly  received  by  the 

'  Gibbon,  ch.  xxvi. 


DEATH  OF  MllIirxAGT'T.A  319 

king,  who  placed  him  in  charge  of  a  small  territory.  The 
exile  submitted  to  this  enforced  retirement  for  a  few  yeare, 
and  then  took  an  opportunity  to  rebel  and  seize  the  throne 
of  his  benefactor.  Having  succeeded  in  this  enterprise,  he 
attacked  the  neighbouring  kingdom  of  (Jandhara.  The 
king,  periiaps  himself  a  Hun,  was  treacherously  surprised 
and  slain,  the  royal  family  was  exterminated,  and  nudti- 
tudes  of  people  were  slaughtered  on  the  banks  of  the  Imlus. 
The  savage  invader,  who  worshipped  as  his  patron  deity 
Siva,  the  god  of  destruction,  exhibited  ferocious  hostility 
against  the  peaceful  Buddhist  cult,  and  remorselessly  over- 
threw the  stilpas  and  monasteries,  w  Inch  he  plundered  of  their 
treasures. 

But  he  did  not  long  enjoy  his  ill-gotten  gains.  Before  Death  of 
the  year  was  out  he  died;  and  *  at  the  time  of  his  death  ^J^'^""*^" 
there  were  thunder  and  hail  and  a  thick  darkness,  and  the 
earth  shook  and  a  mighty  tempest  raged.  And  tiie  holy 
saints  saitl  in  pity :  *'  For  ha\  ing  killed  countless  victims 
and  o\erthrown  the  law  of  Buddha,  he  has  now  fallen  into 
the  lowest  hell,  where  he  shall  pass  endless  ages  of  revolu- 
tion " '.  Thus  the  tyrant  met  the  just  reward  of  his  evil 
deeds  in  another  world,  if  not  in  this.  The  date  of  his 
death  is  not  known  exactly,  but  the  event  must  have 
occurred  in  or  about  the  year  5^0,  just  a  century  before 
Hiuen  Tsang  was  on  his  travels.  The  rapidity  of  the  growth 
of  the  legend  concerning  the  portents  attending  the  tyrant's 
death  is  good  evidence  of  the  depth  of  the  impression  made 
by  his  outlandish  cruelty ;  which  is  further  attested  by  the 
Kashmir  tale  of  the  tiendish  pleasure  which  he  is  believed  io 
have  t;iken  in  rolling  elephants  down  a  precipice.^ 

Yasodharman,   the   Central    Indian    Uaja,   who   has   been  ,y;jjj'''^^'''"" 

'  Hiuen  Tsang.  in  Beal,  7\Va)nfjp.  Wattcrs  is  inclined  to  think  that 

vol.  i.  pp.  ltJj-7^:  Watters.  I.  i.  ?S?^.  the  ialc  told  by  Hiuen  Tsang  refers 

It  is  not  ejisy  to  explain  why  the  to   a   Mihirakida   of  much   earUer 

pilsirim  alleges  (p.  167    that  M'lhira-  date.      Dr.     Fleet     suggests    that 

gula  lived  *  some  centuries  ■  betore  there    may    l)e    an    error    in    the 

his    time.      The    Cltiiiese    words.  Chinese  text.     Hiuen  Tsjuig's  tra- 

.v/k>-/>i7i-n«Vfi-A*Mi.   are   said    not    to  vels    extended    from    ('f!>    to   64o. 

be  cap;iDle  of  any  other  interpreta-  For  the  Kashmir  legends  see  Stem, 

tion    ^Beal,    Imi.    At>t.,   xv,   ■Mo\  transl.  iuijci'.,  Bk.  i.  pp.  ^S9  3^3. 


320  THE   WHITE    HUNS 

mentioned  as  having  taken  an  active  part  in  the  supposed 
confederacy  formed  to  obtain  deliverance  from  the  tyranny 
of  Mihiragula,  is  known  from  three  inscriptions  only,  and  is 
not  mentioned  by  Hiuen  Tsang,  who  gives  the  sole  credit  for 
the  victory  over  the  Huns  to  Baladitya,  king  of  Magadha.^ 
Yasodharman  took  the  honour  to  himself,  and  erected  two 
columns  of  victory  inscribed  with  boasting  words  to  com- 
memorate the  defeat  of  the  foreign  invaders.  In  these  records 
he  claims  to  have  brought  under  his  sway  lands  which  even 
the  Guptas  and  Huns  could  not  subdue,  and  to  have  been 
master  of  Northern  India  from  the  Brahmaputra  to  the 
Western  Ocean,  and  from  the  Himalaya  to  Mount  Mahendra, 
which  probably  should  be  understood  to  mean  the  southern- 
most peak  (Mahendragiri)  of  the  Travancore  Ghats.  But 
the  indefinite,  conventional  expression  of  the  boasts  and 
the  silence  of  Hiuen  Tsang  suggest  that  Yasodharman 
made  the  most  of  his  achievements,  and  that  his  court 
poet  gave  him  something  more  than  his  due  of  praise. 
Nothing  Avhatever  is  known  about  either  his  ancestry,  or  his 
successors ;  his  name  stands  absolutely  alone  and  unrelated. 
The  belief,  therefore,  is  warranted  that  his  reign  was  short, 
and  of  much  less  importance  than  that  claimed  for  it  by  his 
magniloquent  inscriptions.^ 

C;"^;"'."^^''"      '^he  dominion  of  the  White  Huns  in  the  Oxus  valley  did 
Pall  of  the  -IIP  11.1.    AT..  .  . 

Hun  not  long  survive   the   defeat    and    death   of   Mihiragula    m 

empire  in    i^jj.^^     rj^j^g  j^^rival  of  the  Turks  in  the  middle  of  tiie  sixth 

Asia. 

century   clianged   the   situation    completely.     The   Turkish 
tribes,  having  vanquished   a  rival   horde    called    Joan-joan, 

^  I  consider  myself  justified  see  gone  to  the  help  of  Bhlmadeva,  and 
ron/ra,  Hoernle  in  ./.yt.^-i.  iS'.,  190t»,  must  have  been  accompanied  also 
p.  91}  in  holding  that  the  appa-  by  his  brother  Kirtipala.  And,  as 
rently  discrepant  testimonies  of  is  very  often  the  case  with  tributary 
Hiuen  Tsang  and  the  inscriptions  princes,  who  take  the  credit  of  win- 
should  be  explained  as  in  the  text.  ning  a  battle  fought  by  their  over- 
Presumably,  Baladitya,  as  rcpre-  lord,  whom  they  have  but  assisted, 
senting  the  imperial  line,  claimed  both  Kalhana  and  Kirtipala  are  re- 
to  be  the  suzerain  of  Ya.4odharman,  presented  to  have  vanquished  the 
who  preferred  to  pose  as  indepen-  Turushkas  at  Kasahrada'  (D.  R. 
dent.  Tlie  following  observation  by  Bhandharkar,  Ind.  Ant.,  1912,  p. 
a  skilled  and  critical  inquirer  is  72  . 
relevant :—  2  Inscriptions  Nos.  33,  34,  3J  in 

'  Kalhana,  being  a  feudatory  of  I'Ueet,  Giqi/a  Inscriptiotis. 
the  Chauiukya  family,  nmst  have 


THE  GURJARAS  321 

made  an  alliance  with  Kliusru  Anushlrvrui,  kintr  of  Persia, 
grandson  of  FirOz;,  who  iiad  heen  killed  hy  the  Huns  in 
A.  D.  484,  and  the  allies  at  some  date  l)et\^■een  56'i  and  5(u 
destroyed  the  White  Huns.  For  a  short  time  the  Persians 
held  Balkh  and  other  j)ortions  of  the  Hun  territory;  but 
the  gradual  weakening  of  the  Sassanian  power  soon  enai)led 
the  Turks  to  extend  their  authority  towards  the  south  as 
far  as  Kapisa,  and  annex  the  wliole  of  the  countries  which 
had  been  included  in  the  Hvui  empire.^ 

In  later  Sanskrit  literature  the  term  '  Hun '  {HCina)  is  Connota- 
employed  in  a  very  indeterminate  sense  to  denote  a  foreigner  ^^olia^ 
from  the  north-west,  in  the  same  way  as  the  word  Yavana 
had  been  employed  in  ancient  times,  and  as  Wildyati  is 
now  understood.  One  of  the  thirty-six  so-called  ^  royal ' 
Rajput  clans  actually  was  given  the  name  of  Huna.-  This 
vagueness  of  connotation  raises  some  doubt  as  to  the  exact 
meaning  of  the  term  Huna  as  applied  to  the  clans  on  the 
north-western  frontier  against  whom  Harsha  of  Thiinesar 
and  his  father  waged  incessant  war  at  the  close  of  the  sixth 
and  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century.  But  it  is  unlikely 
that  within  fifty  years  of  Mihiragula's  defeat  the  true  meaning 
of  Huna  should  have  been  forgotten  ;  and  the  opponents  of 
Harsha  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  outlying  colonies  of 
real  Huns,  who  had  settled  among  the  hills  on  the  frontier. 

The  Hunas  are  often  mentioned  in  books  and  inscriptions  The 
in  connexion  with  the  Gurjaras,  whose  name  survives  in  the  ^"'■J^''''^- 
modern  Gujars,  a  caste  widely  distributed  in  North-western 
India.  The  early  Gurjaras  seem  to  have  been  foreign 
immigrants,  closely  associated  with,  and  possibly  allied  in 
blood  to  the  White  Huns.  They  founded  a  considerable 
kingdom  in  Rajputana,  the  capital  of  which  was  Bhilnud 
or  Srimal,  about  50  miles  to  the  north-west  of  Mount  Abu. 
In  course  of  time  the  Gurjara-Pratihara  kings  of  Bhilmal 

1  Chavannes,  op.  cit.,  pp.  2-2G-f).  Huna  to  the  Portuguese,  whom  he 

2  Buhler,ii'p.  7nrf.,i,225:  Sylvain  described  as  'very  despicable,  de- 
Levi,  Notes  chinoises  sur  I'lnde,  void  of  tenderness,  regardless  of 
No.  iii,  '  La  Date  de  Candragomin  '  Brahmans,  and  careless  of  cerc- 
(Hanoi,  1903  ,  p.  25.  A  Brahman  monial  purity'  ^Burnell,  cited  by 
poet  of  Southern  India,  writing  Morse  Stephens,  Albuquerque,  p. 
about  A.D.  1600,  applied  the  term  206;. 


THE   AVHITE   HUNS 

conquered  K;inauj  and  became  the  paramount  power  in 
Northern  India,  as  will  be  related  in  the  fourteenth  chapter. 
Tiie  minor  Gurjara  kingdom  of  Bharoch  (Broach)  was  an 
offshoot  of  the  Bhilmal  monarchy. 
Origin  of  In  this  place  I  desire  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact,  long 
clans ^"'^^^  suspected  and  now  established  by  good  evidence,  that  the 
foreign  immigrants  into  Rajputana  and  the  upper  Gangetic 
provinces  were  not  utterly  destroyed  in  the  course  of  their 
wars  with  the  native  powers.  Many,  of  course,  perished, 
but  many  more  survived,  and  were  merged  in  the  general 
population,  of  which  no  inconsiderable  part  is  now  formed 
by  their  descendants.  The  foreigners,  like  their  forerunners 
the  Sakas  and  Yueh-chi,  universally  yielded  to  the  wonder- 
ful assimilative  power  of  Hinduism,  and  rapidly  became 
Hinduized.  Clans  or  families  which  succeeded  in  winning 
chieftainship  were  admitted  readily  into  the  frame  of  Hindu 
polity  as  Kshatriyas  or  Rajputs,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  Parihars  and  many  other  famous  Rajput  clans  of  the 
north  were  developed  out  of  the  barbarian  hordes  which 
poured  into  India  during  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  The 
rank  and  file  of  the  strangers  became  Gujars  and  other  castes, 
ranking  lower  than  the  Rajputs  in  the  scale  of  precedence. 
Farther  to  the  south,  various  indigenous,  or  ^aboriginaP, 
tribes  and  clans  underwent  the  same  process  of  Hinduized 
social  promotion,  in  virtue  of  which  Gonds,  Bhars,  Kharwars, 
and  so  forth  emerged  as  Chandels,  Rathors,  Gaharwars,  and 
other  well-known  Rajput  clans,  duly  equipped  with  pedigrees 
reaching  back  to  the  sun  and  moon.  The  process  will  be 
discussed  further  and  illustrated  in  some  detail  when  I  come 
to  deal  with  the  mediaeval  dynasties  of  the  north. 
Exemp-  The    extinction   of   the    Ephthalite    power   on    the    Oxus 

India  from  n^'tjessarily  dried  up,  or  at  least  greatly  contracted,  the  stream 
foreign       of  barbarian  immigration  into  India,  which  enjoyed,  so  far 
as  is  known,  almost  complete  immunity  from  foreign  attack 
for   nearly   five   centuries   after    the   defeat   of    Mihiragula.^ 


'  Defeat    of     Mihiraguia    about       a.d.  1023.     The  Arab   conquest  of 

Sind,  in  the  eighth  century,  was  an 
isolated  operation,  producing  little 


A.n.  .1-28;  permanent  occupation  of      Sind,  in  the  eighth  century,  was  an 
the  Panjab  by  MahmOd  of  Ghaznl,       is  "       ' 


MO-LA-P'O  KINGDONr  323 

The  followinfr  chapters  will  tell  how  she  made  use,  or  failed 
to  make  use,  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  for  internal 
development  unchecked  by  foreis^n  aggression. 

Very  little  is  known  about  the  history  of    India   during  Second 
the  second  half  of  the  sixth  century.     It  is  certain  that  no  sh^th"^ 
paramount   power  existed,   and   that   all   the   states  of   the  century 
Gangetic  plain  had  suffered  severely  from  the  ravages  of  the  a  blank. 
Huns  and  connected  tribes ;  but,  excepting  bare  catalogues 
of  names  in  certain  local  dynastic  lists,  few  facts  of  general 
interest  have  been  recorded. 

One  of  the  many  states  into  which  India  was  divided  during  Mo-Ia-p'o. 
those  troublous  times  deserves  special  notice,  because  the 
brief  reference  to  its  affairs  by  Hiuen  Tsang  has  given  occasion 
for  much  discussion  and  some  misunderstanding.  In  a.  d.  641, 
or  early  in  642,  the  pilgrim,  after  leaving  Bharoch  (Broach), 
travelled  in  a  north-westerly  direction  for  a  considerable 
distance,  apparently  overstated  in  tlie  Chinese  text,  until  he 
arrived  in  a  country  called  Mo-la- p'o,  a  name  phonetically 
equivalent  to  Malava.  The  unnamed  capital,  which  was 
situated  to  the  south-east  of  a  great  river,  or,  according  to 
another  reading,  of  the  Mahi,  has  not  been  identified. 
If  the* great  river'  means  the  SabarmatI,  the  capital  may 
have  stood  at  or  near  the  site  of  Ahmadabad.  Although  it  is 
impossible  to  reconcile  all  the  data  given  in  the  pilgrim's 
text,  and  several  details  are  open  to  controversy,  it  is  clear 
that  the  kingdom  or  country  of  Mo-la-p*o  essentially  com- 
prised the  basin  of  the  Mahi  river,  with  the  region  to  the 
east  of  the  Sabarmati  and  a  portion  of  the  hilly  tract  of 
Southern  Rajputana,  perhaps  extending  as  far  east  as 
Rutlam.  Mo-la-p*o  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Gurjara 
kingdom  of  Bhinmal,  on  the  north-west  by  the  subordinate 
principality  or  province  of  Anandapura  (Varnagar),  lying  to  the 
west  of  the  Sabarmati,  and  on  the  east  by  the  kingdom  (Avanti 
or  Eastern  Malwa),  of  which  Ujjain  was  the  capital.  Besides 
Anandapura,  two  other  countries,  Ki-t*a  or   Ki-ch*a,  and 

impression  on  the  rest  of  India.     If      and  tenth  centuries,  they  have  not 
any  incursions  by  nomads  occurred       been  recorded, 
during  the  seventh,  eighth,  ninth, 

y2 


324  THE   WHITE   HUNS 

Su-la-cli'a  or  Su-la-tha  were  dependencies  of  Mo-hi-p'o. 
The  latter  dependency  certainly  is  to  be  identified  with 
Soratha  (Surashtra),  or  Southern  Kathiawar,  The  identity 
of  the  former  is  disputed — some  good  authorities  holding  the 
Chinese  name  to  mean  the  Kaira  (Khcda,  Khctaka)  District, 
while  others  believe  it  to  mean  Kachchh  (Cutch). 
Dhniva-  The  territory  of  Valabhi  (Wala)  in  Eastern  Kathiawar, 
■  *  which  intervened  between  Mo-la-p*o  and  Suraslitra,  had  a 
king  of  its  own,  Dhruvabhata  by  name  (Dhruvasena  Bala- 
ditya  of  inscriptions),  who  was  the  son-in-law  of  Harsha 
(Siladitya),  paramount  sovereign  of  Northern  India.  Some 
years  before  the  pilgrim's  visit,  Dhruvabhata  had  been 
defeated  by  Harsha,  and  the  matrimonial  alliance  seems 
to  have  been  one  of  the  arrangements  made  when  peace  was 
declared.  In  643,  when  Harsha  held  the  solemn  assemblies 
at  Kanauj  and  Prayaga  (Allahabad),  in  which  Hiuen  Tsang 
took  part,  the  Raja  of  Valabhi  attended  as  a  vassal  prince  in 
the  train  of  his  father-in-law.  The  pilgrim  does  not  say 
a  Avord  about  the  nature  of  the  government  of  Mo-la-p*o  and 
its  three  dependencies,  Anandapura,  Surashtra,  and  (?)  Cutch, 
the  reason  apparently  being  that  all  these  countries  were 
administered  on  behalf  of  Harsha,  whose  father  had  fought 
the  king  of  Malava,  perhaps  Mo-la-p'o,  at  the  close  of  the 
sixth  century.  The  fact  that  Dhruvabhata  is  named  as  the 
Raja  or  king  of  the  Valabhi  territory  interposed  between 
Mo-la-p'o  and  its  dependency,  Surashtra,  can  be  explained 
by  assuming  that  Harsha  (Siladitya)  purposely  allowed  his 
son-in-law  to  occupy  a  semi-independent  position,  governing 
not  only  Valabhi,  but  also  Mo-la-p*o  and  its  dependencies. 
Siladitya,  Study  of  the  local  records  drew  the  attention  of  Hiuen 
MoJa^p'o  Tsang  to  the  history  of  Dhruvabhata's  uncle,  Siladitya, 
who  had  been  king  of  Mo-Ia-p'o  sixty  years  before.  This 
prince  was  famed  as  having  been  a  man  of  eminent  wisdom 
and  great  learning,  a  zealous  Buddhist,  and  so  careful  to 
preserve  animal  life  that  lie  caused  the  drinking  water  for  his 
horses  and  elephants  to  be  strained,  lest  perchance  any 
creature  living  in  the  water  should  be  injured.  By  the  side 
of  his  palace  he  had  built  a  Buddhist  temple,  remarkable  for 


SiLADITYA  DIIARMADITYA  325 

its  artistic  design  and  rich  ornament,  in  which  the  images  of 
the  Seven  Buddhas  were  enshrined.  It  was  his  custom  to 
hold  a  grand  assembly  every  year,  at  which  the  canonical 
dues  and  gifts  were  presented  to  the  monks  with  lil)crality. 
This  pious  practice  had  been  continued  for  successive  genera- 
tions to  the  time  of  Iliuen  Tsang's  visit. 

M.   Sylvain    Levi  seems   to   be  right  in    identifying    this  Siladitya- 
religious  monarch  with  the  Buddhist  Slluditya  I,  surnamcd  di/ya'!!!" 
Dharmaditya,  '  the  Sun  of  Piety,'  of  the  Valabhi  dynasty,  who  Mo-Ih-j/o. 
reigned  from  about  a.  d.  595  to  6*10  or  615  ;  for,  although  those 
dates  do  not  agree  with  all  the  indications  given  by  Hiuen 
Tsang,  it  is   certain    that  Dhruvabhata,   the   reigning   Raja 
of  Valabhi,  was  a  nephew  of  Siladitya  Dharmaditya,  while 
Hiuen  Tsang  states  tiiat  he  was  the  nephew  of  the  pious 
Siladitya,   the  former   king  of   Mo-la-p'o.     The    apparently 
necessary  inference  is  that  Siladitya  Dharmaditya  must  have 
been   king   of   Mo-la-p'o    by    conc^uest    in    addition    to    his 
ancestral  realm  of  Valabhi.^     Botli  territories  subsequently 
were  con(piered  by   Harsha,  and  became  subject  to  him  as 
their  suzerain. 

The  serious  misunderstanding  of  the  story  above  alluded  to  Mo-la-p'o 
consisted  in  the  erroneous  belief  held  by  Mr.  Beal  and  several  fro,„ 
other  writers  that  Mo-la-p*o,  or  Western  Malava,  was  identical  Ujjain. 
with  the  kingdom  of  Ujjain,  otherwise  known  as  Avanti  or 
Eastern  Malava.     Mr.  Beal  actually  designated  Siladitya  of 
Mo-la-p'o  as  'Siladitya  of  Ujjain^,   forgetting  that   Hiuen 
Tsang  described  the  territory  of  Ujjain  as  a  separate  king- 
dom equal  in  size  to  Mo-la-p'o,  and  in  his  time  ruled   by 
a  Brahman  Raja.     Siladitya,  the  former  Raja  of  Valabhi 
and  Mo-la-p'o,  was  considered  to  be  a  Kshatriya,  and  there 
is  no   reason  to   suppose   that   he  had  anything  to  do  with 
Ujjain. 

Harsha  (Siladitya),  of  Kanauj,  is  described  by  his  friend 
Hiuen  Tsang  as  being  of  the  Vaisya  caste,  although  he  seems 
to  have  taken  rank  as  a  Kshatriya.     The  erroneous  identiti- 

^  Dr.  Hoernle  seeks  to  prove  that  queror  of  the  Huns,  but  without 
the  elder  Siladitya  should  be  iden-  success,  in  my  judgement  (./,  li.  A. 
titled  with  YaiSodharman,  the  con-       6'.,  1909,  p.  \'2-2). 


326 


THE   WHITE   HUNS 


cation  of  Mo-la-p'o  with  tlie  kingdom  of  Ujjain  has  given 
rise  to  niucli  confusion  in  the  treatment  of  the  history  of 
Harslia's  period,  and  tlic  main  purpose  of  the  observations 
made  in  the  first  edition  of  this  work  was  the  rectification 
of  that  embarrassing  error.  Those  observations,  which  were 
themselves  erroneous  in  certain  respects,  have  now  been 
corrected  in  the  light  of  subsequent  criticism  and  discussion.^ 


^  It  is  impossible  to  discuss  the 
Mo-la-p'o  problem  fully  within  the 
limits  of  a  note.  References  are  : 
Hiuen  Tsang  Beal,  ii,  pp.  2C0-70 ; 
Wattcrs,  ii,  pp.  242-8;  ;  Cun- 
ningham, Anc.  tieotjr.,  pp.  489-94; 
Stein,  transl.  liajntar.,  vol.  i,  p.  66; 
Max  Miiller,  India,  What  can  it 
Teach  us  ?,  p.  288 ;  Hoernle  (/.  11.  A . 
S.,  19(«,  p.  553);  Vincent  Smith 
(Z.  D.  M.  G.,  1904,  pp.  787-96) ; 
Burn  {J.Ji.A.S.,  1905,  p.  837); 
Grierson  (/,  R.A.S.,  1906,  p.  95)  ; 
Burgess  (ibid.,  p.  220;  Ind.  Ant., 
1905,  p.  195; ;  Sylvain  Levi  Junrnal 
des  Savants,  Oct.,  1905,  pp.  544-8\ 
The  text,  which  differs  from  that 
in  the  first  edition,  is  based  on  con- 
sideration of  ail  the  above-men- 
tioned publications.  Some  special 
points  may  be  noted.  Mo-la-p'o 
did  not  include  Bhinraal  (Bhilmal, 
Bhinnamala,  Bhillamala.  also  called 
Srimal,  representing  P'i-lo-mo-lo, 
the  capital  of  Kii-che-lo  (Gujara), 
the  Gurjara  kingdom  of  Rajputana; 
nor  did  it  include  Ujjain,  N.  lat. 
23°  11',  E.  long.  75°  47',  which  was 
the  capital  of  a  separate  kingdom 
(Avanti).      Three   texts  of  Hiuen 


Tsang  give  the  name  or  epithet 
of  the  river  as  3Io-ha,  =  mahd, 
'  great ' ;  only  the  D  text,  which 
M.  Levi  follows,  reads  Mo-hl,  = 
Mahi  (Watters  .  The  bearings  in- 
dicate that  the  river  meant  was 
the  SabarmatI  rather  than^  the 
Mahi,  The  identification  of  A nan- 
dapura  with  Varnagar  is  fully 
proved.  Ki-t'a  or  Ki-ch'a  is  a  good 
phonetic  equivalent  for  Kheta 
(Khetaka,  Kheda\  the  modern 
'  Kaira '  District,  but  St.  Martin, 
Julien,  and  Watters  prefer  to  iden- 
tify it  with  Kachchh  (Cutch  ,  and  I 
am  disposed  to  agree  with  them. 
The  identity  of  Su-la-ch'a  or  Su-la- 
tha  with  Soratha  or  Surashtra, 
Southern  Kathiawar,  is  established 
by  the  mention  of  the  hill  Yiih- 
shan-to,  or  Yhu-shen-to,  =  Ujjanta 
(Ujjayanta,  Ujjinta),  =  Girnar. 
Dhruvabhata  was  the  son-in-law  of 
Harsha  (Siladitya),  not  of  his  son 
(Watters,  ii,  247)!  P'i-lo-mo-lo  = 
Bhilmala  (Watters,  ii,  250\  For 
dates  of  Hiuen  Tsang's  visits  to 
Mo-la-p'o,  &c.,  see  'Itinerary'  in 
Watters,  ii,  335. 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  OUPTA  PERIOD 


DATE  A.  D. 


c.  308 


320 


330 

330- 

347- 

351 

360 

375 

395 

401  . 

405-11 

407. 

409. 

419. 

413. 

415. 

417. 

432. 

436. 


50 


440. 

443. 

447. 

448. 

449. 

c.  450 

454. 

455. 

455. 

456. 

457. 

460. 

463. 

464. 

465. 

467. 

e.  470 

473. 

477. 
c.  480 
c.  485 
c.  490 
c.  490 
c.  510 

520. 

c.  528 

c.  530 
c.  535 
c.  595 


80 


to  510 
to  770 
to  540 


to  720 
to  615 


Lichchhavi  marriage  of  Chandra-gupta  I 

Chandra-gupta  I  ace.  to  independent  power 


Samudragupta  ace. 

Campaigns  in  Northern  India 

Campaign  in  Southern  India 

Horse-sacrifice 
Embassy  from  King  Meghavarna  of  Ceylon 
Chandra-gupta  II  ace. 

Conquest  of  Western  India 

Udayagiri  inscription 

Travels  of  Fa-hien  in  Gupta  empire 

Garhwa  inscription 

Silver  coins  of  western  type 

Saiichl  inscription 
Kumaragupta  I  ace. 

Bilsar  inscription 

Garhwa  inscription  [tions ' 

Mathura  and  Natore  in  N.  Bengal  inscrip- 

Mandasor  inscription 

Bharadi  inscription. 

Silver  coins 

Silver  coins 

Silver  coins 

Silver  coins  and  Mankuwar  inscription 

Silver  coins 

Pushyamitra  war 

Silver  coins 

Silver  coins 
Skandagupta  ace. ;  first  Hun  war 

Embankment  of  lake  at  Girnar  rebuilt 

Temple  erected  there 

Kahaon  inscription  (Gorakhpur  District) 

Silver  coins 

Silver  coins 

Indor  inscription  (Bulandshahr  District) 

Silver  coins 
Second  Hun  war 
Mandasor  inscription 

Pali  inscription  (Ep.  Tnd.,  ii.,  363) 
Puragupta  (?  Praka^aditya^  ace. 
Narasimhagupta  Baladitya  ace. 
Toramana 
Dynasty  of  Valabhi 
Mihiragula 

Song-Yun  visited  White  Hun  king  of  Gan- 

dhara 
Defeat  of   Mihiragula  by   Baladitya   and 

Yasodharman 
Kumaragupta  II  ace. 
Later  Gupta  dynasty  of  Magadha 
§iladitya  of  Mo-la-p'o  and  Valabhi 


f  Foundation  of 
Guptii  Era,  of 
which  year  1 
began  February 

U(),  3-JO 


G.  E.  82 

„      86-92 

„      8ft 

„      90 

„      93 

„      94 

,,      96 

„      9H 

„    113 
V.S.493(  =  G.E. -O-f 

117) 
G.  E.  117 

„      121 

,,      124 

„      128 

„      129 

„      130 

„      131 

„      135 

„      136 

„      136 

„      137 

,,      1.3ft 

„      141 

„      144 

„      145 

„      146 

„      148 

„      151-61 
530    Malava    era 

current 
G.  E.  158 


Defeated 
r.  A.  D.  528 


The     Natore     inscription     of 
).  432  is  the  earliest  copper-plate 


known  {J.  cV.  Proc.  A.S.B.,  1911. 
Feb.,  Ann.  Rep.,  p.  xviii). 


328  THE   GUPTA  EMPIRE 


APPENDIX   N 

Vasuhandlm  and  ihc  Guptas 

Biblio-  The  difficult  problem  of  the  date  of  Vasubandhu,  the  famous 

graphy.       Buddhist  author,  and  the  connected  question  of  the  identity  of  the 

Gupta  sovereigns  with  whom  he  had  intimate  relations,  have 

given  occasion  for  voluminous  discussion  and  wide  divergence  of 

opinion. 

References  to  recent  publications  on  the  subject  are  as 
follows : — 

Iml.  AnL,  1911,  p.  170  (Pathak);  SGl  (Hoernle)  ;  312  (Nara- 
simhachar);  ibid.,  1912,  p.  1  (D.  R.  Bhandarkar) ;  15  (H.  P. 
Sastri)  ;  24-4  (Pathak) ;  J.  t^-  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  1905,  p.  227  (Vidya- 
bhushana) ;  and,  the  most  important,  Noel  Peri,  '  A  propos  de 
la  Date  de  V'asubandhu  '  {Bull,  de  I'Ecole  fr.  d' Exlrcme-Onent, 
t.  xi  (1911),  pp.  339-90).  Those  publications,  especially  the  last 
named,  give  many  earlier  references,  among  which  the  most 
significant  are  Hiuen  Tsang  (Yuan  Chwang),  in  Watters,  i,  210- 
1 2,  and  Takakusu  on  Paramartha's  Life  of  Vasubandhu  in  J.  B. 
A.  S.,  1905,  pp.  44-53. 
Argu-  It  seems  to  me  to  be  impossible  to  resist  the  weight  of  the  argu- 

ments of  ments  adduced  by  M.  Peri  to  prove  that  Vasubandhu  lived  in 
p'  .  °^  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  dying  soon  after  the 
middle  of  that  century.^  Consequentl}^,  his  life  (c.  a.d.  280  to 
360)  coincided  in  large  part  with  the  reigns  of  Chandra-gupta  I 
and  Samudragupta,  which  extended  from  a.  d.  320  to  about  370  or 
a  little  later.  The  principal  points  in  M.  l^eri's  long  disquisition, 
based  on  innumerable  Chinese  texts,  may  be  briefly  summarized 
as  follows : — 

Almost  unanimous  Chinese  testimony  affirms  that  Vasubandliu 
and  his  elder  brother  Asanga  lived  '  in  the  900  years'  after  the 
death  of  Buddha.^  Phrases  like  Mn  the  900  years  after',  &c., 
should  be  interpreted  as  meaning '  in  the  ninth  century  after  ',  not 

'  Prof.    Macdonell   adopted   this  the  1000  years '.    Watters  observes 

view  long  ago,  on  the  ground  that  that  '  our  pilgrim  here  represents 

works  of  Vasubandhu  were  trans-  these   two    brothers   [Asanga   and 

lated  into  Chinese  in  A.D.  404  (7/m-^.  Vasubandhu]   as   natives  of   Gan- 

t^annk.    Literature,    1900,    p.    325).  dhara,  and  as  having  lived  in  the 

Mr.  S.  C.  Vidyabhushana,  relying  millennium succeedingthe  Buddha's 

on  Tibetan  authorities,  also  places  decease  (^that  is,  according  to  the 

Vasubandhu  in  the  fourth  century,  Chinese  reckoning,  before  the  third 

and  makes  him  contemporary  with  century  of  our  era ) '  (Watters,  i, 

the  Tibetan  king,  Lha-tho-ri,  who  is  357).     The  calculation  is  approxi- 

supposed  to  have  died  in  a.d.  371  mately  correct,  as  Vasubandnu  was 

'J.^Pror.  ji.S.n.,  1^03,1).  '227;.  born  about  a.d.    280  and  Asanga 

'^  The  principal  excejjtion  is  Hiuen  somewhat  earlier, 
Tsang,  who  places  Vasubandhu  *  in 


WORKS  OF  VASUBANDHU  329 

*in  the  tenth  century '  as  Dr.  Takakusu  supjjoscd.  Chinese  literary 
tradition  places  Harivannan  as  well  as  X'asubandiui  "^iii  the  f)00 
years ' ,  so  that  the  two  authors  must  have  been  considered  to  he 
nearly  contemporary. 

Hai'ivarman's  great  work  was  translated  by  Kumarajlva  (38.'{— 
412  in  China),  and  therefore  must  be  anterior  to  lOO.  Vasu- 
bandhu  must  belong  to  the  same  century.  The  same,  Kumara- 
jlva in  A.  D,  104  and  405  translated  two  works  {Sata  Sastra  and 
Bodhichittotpadana  sadra)  traditionally  ascribed  to  Vasubandhu. 
Although  some  writers  give  the  authoi-'s  name  in  the  abbreviated 
form  Vasu,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  mean  Vasubandhu,  nor  is 
there  any  adequate  reason  for  doubting,  with  Takakusu,  that  both 
works  were  composed  by  him.  Some  people  have  imagined  that 
there  was  anotlier  early  Vasubandhu,  but  that  guess  has  no  solid 
basis.  Watters  was  mistaken  in  distinguishing  the  patriarch  from 
the  author  Vasubandhu.  Kumarajlva,  \yho  wrote  a  Life  of  Vasu- 
bandhu not  now  extant,  read  the  Sala  Saslra  before  a.d.  380.* 

The  Yogdc/idtya  hhumi  Sdstra,  by  Asanga,  elder  brother  of  Vasu- 
bandhu, was  partially  translated  by  Dharmaraksha  between  a.  d. 
414  and  421.  That  is  a  large  work,  written  when  tJie  author  was 
well  on  in  years.^ 

Bodhiruclii  is  admitted  by  everybody  to  have  translated  a  work 
by  Vasubandhu  (^Vajrachhedikd  prajiid-pdramild  sTdra  in  a.  d.  508  or 
509.  The  translator  was  reckoned  among  the  writers  '  in  the 
1100',  some  two  centuries  later  than  Vasubandhu^  whom  he  re- 
garded as  an  ancient. 

M.  Peri  is  of  opinion,  as  regards  the  successors  of  \'asubandhu, 
that  Gunamati  lived  early  in  the  sixth  century,  and  Sthiramati 
late  in  the  same  century.  Dinnaga  is  the  only  considerable 
Buddhist  writer  who  can  be  referred  to  the  fifth  century.* 
Chinese  authors  mention  many  Buddhist  writers  of  distinction 
'in  the  900  '  and  '  in  the  1 100  ',  but  hardly  any  between.  The 
gap  may  be  explained  by  the  admitted  recrudescence  of  Brah- 
manical  Hinduism  under  the  Gupta  kings  of  the  fifth  century. 
.  The  necessary  conclusion  is  that  Vasubandhu,  wlio  is  said  to 
have  attained  the  age  of  eighty,  lived  in  the  fourth  century  and 
must  have  died  soon  after  the  middle  of  that  century.  As  I 
have  said,  I  cannot  resist  those  arguments. 

We  must  now  consider  the  evidence  connecting  Vasubandhu  Date  of 
with  the  Gupta  kings,  the  first  of  whom  to  attain  sovereign  rank  Chandra- 
was  Chandra-gupta  I,  who  reigned  from  a.  u.  320  to  about  330^  6"Pt^  ^^ 
or  possibly  a  little  later. 

'  Takakusu  denies  that  a  Life  of  mtra;{2)M(ih('iy(l)ta-srdrau]>ade^'as; 

Vasubandhu  by  Kumarajlva   ever  (3)  MaMydna-sampar'njraha-idstra 

existed  i./.  R.  A.  S.,  1905,  p.  39).  'J.  li.  A.  'S.,  1903,  p.  3J\ 

2  If  this  alleged  fact  is  correctly  *  The  Tibetans  represent  Dinnaga 

stated  it  alone  is  conclusive.    Taka-  as  a  disciple  of  Vasubandhu  (/.  i^" 

kusu  gives  the  works  of  Asanga  as  I' roc.  A.  S.  B.,  1905,  p.  227}. 
three,  namely  (1)  Saptadcu'a-bhumi 


330  THE   GUPTA  EMPIRE 

J^?™^"*"  Before  discussing  the  most  definite  statements  connecting 
n'th^*^^"  Vasubandhu  -svith  the  Guptas,  I  may  note  that  according  to  Tara- 
nath,  he  resided  mostly  in  Magadha,  survived  his  brother  Asanga 
by  about  twenty-five  years,  and  "svas  beheved  to  be  contemporary 
with  tlie  Tibetan  king  Lha-thothori  onjan^tsan,  whom  Wassiheff 
places  five  generations  before  the  well-known  king  Srong  6tsan 
*gambo  (Schiefner,  pp.  1 23,  1 26,  3 1 8).  Sarat  Chandra  Das  states 
that  Lha-thothori  'died  in  the  year  a. d.  56]  at  the  age  of  120, 
after  a  prospei-ous  reign  of  fully  a  century'  (J.  ^.  ^S.  jB.,  part  i, 
1881,  p.  217).^  That  evidence  is  opposed  to  M.  Peri's  finding, 
but  I  do  not  regard  it  as  being  of  much  value.  Srong-tsan-gampo 
(as  his  name  is  usually  written),  '  the  first  authentic  sovereign 
of  Tibet,'  ascended  the  throne  in  a.  d.  630  (See  De  Milloue, 
Bod-Yoid  oil  Tibet,  pp.  139,  l64). 
WassiliefF.  Wassilieff  (transl.  La  Comme,  pp.  220,  22 1)  tells  the  story 
of  the  relations  between  Vasubandhu  and  king  Vikramaditya, 
much  as  related  by  Paramartha,  but  gives  the  name  of  Vikra- 
maditya's  son  and  successor  as  PiTiditya  (Paraditya),  not  as 
Brdaditya  {Praditeia  in  La  Comme,  and  Praditja  in  Schiefner, 
p.  318> 
Three  I  now  proceed  to  examine  the  testimony  of  three  witnesses  to 

witnesses    Vasubandhu's  connexion  with  the  Guptas,  namely  : — 
tionswith        (0  Vamana  (c.  a.  D.  800)  ;  (2)  Paramartha,  who  wrote  between 
the  A.  D.  546  and  569;  and  (3)  Hiuen  Tsang  (Yuan  Chwang),  who 

Guptas.      took  his    notes    at    Peshawar,  the   birth-place    of  Vasubandhu, 
probably  in  a.  d.  631,  and  certainly  finished  his   book    in  6t8 
(Watters,  i,  12). 
Verse  The  half-verse  cited  by  the  rhetorician  Vamana,  and  brought 

quoted  by  ^q  notice  by  Prof.  Pathak,  obviously  is  a  quotation  from  a  much 
earlier  work,  apparently  contemporary  with  the  Gupta  king 
alluded  to,  and  perhaps  a  genealogical  poem  on  the  Guptas. 
The  passage  is  discussed  in  the  series  of  articles  in  the  Indian 
Antiqiiaty  cited  at  the  beginning  of  this  essay.  Without  going 
into  controverted  side  issues,  I  may  premise  that  I  accept  the 
reading  Vasubandhu  (v.  1.  cha  Siibandhu  and  other  readings),  and 
agree  that  the  compound  Chandra2)raka^a  (v.  1.  -prabhava)  should 
be  taken  as  a  personal  name  or  title,  not  as  a  mere  epithet 
meaning  '  shining  like  the  moon '.  The  word  sdchivya  in  the 
commentary  probably  means  that  Vasubandhu  became  the 
minister  of  the  young  king,  but  possibly  may  mean  no  more  than 
that  he  was  sinij)ly  the  king's  intimate  friend. 
The  hemistich  in  Prof  Pathak's  text  is  : — 

'  Soyam  samprati  ChandrayuptatanaymS  Chnndraprakd.^o  ynvil 
juto  hhupatird^rayah  kritadhiydm  diahtyd  kritdrthasramah.^ 

^  I  do  not  believe  in  the  reign  '  of  tho[-tho]-ri  died  in  a.d.  371,  which 
fully  a  century'.  As  already  noted,  date  agrees  with  Vasubandhu's 
other  authorities  assert  that  Lha-       true  date. 


VASUBANDHU  AND  SAMUDRAGUPTA      331 

The  corrected  translation  is  :  — 

'This  very  son  of  Chandragupta,  the  young  Chandrapraka:5a,  the 
patron  of  men  of  letters,  fortunate  in  the  success  of  his  efforts,  has  now 
(^sathprati)  become  king.' 

The  commentator  explains  that  the  phrase  '  patron  of  men  of 
letters  '  is  an  instance  of  '  allusion  ',  containing  a  reference  to  the 
ministership  (^sachivj/a)  of  Vasubandhu. 

It  is,  I  think,  safe  to  assume  that  the  celebrated  Buddhist 
author  Vasubandhu  must  be  the  pei'son  named  by  the  commen- 
tator, whose  interpretation  of  the  allusion  must  have  had  some 
solid  foundation.  There  is,  howevei*,  nothing  about  Vasubandhu 
in  the  text  of  the  verse  cited  by  Vamana.  It  merely  affirms  as 
a  well-known  fact  that  the  young  king,  named  Chandrapraka^a, 
son  of  Chandragupta,  was  a  fortunately  successful  patron  of 
men  of  letters.  The  comment  implies  that  the  intimacy  between 
tlie  young  king  and  Vasubandhu  was  so  notorious  that  it  could 
properly  be  made  the  subject  of  a  vague  allusion. 

Assuming  the  interpretation  of  the  commentator  to  be  correct, 
the  statement  agrees  perfectly  with  M.  Peri's  view  of  the  chrono- 
logy, the  Chandragupta  referred  to  being  taken  as  Chandra- 
gupta I,  who  reigned  from  early  in  320  to  about  330  or  a  little  later. 
His  successor  was  Samudragupta,  a  prince  of  many  accomplish- 
ments, himself  a  skilled  poet  and  musician,  and  beyond  doubt 
fortunate  in  his  patronage  of  men  of  letters.  Harishena,  who 
recorded  the  king's  panegyric  in  a  Sanskrit  poem  of  high  liter- 
ary quality,  was  a  distinguished  man  of  that  class. ^  No  difficulty 
need  be  felt  in  believing  that  Samudragupta  may  have  been 
called  by  the  name  or  title  Chandraprakasa  (or  -prabhava)  before 
his  accession.  It  is  known  that  the  Gupta  kings  and  princes 
used  many  such  titles.  As  to  the  employment  at  court  of  a  dis- 
tinguished Buddhist  author  by  Samudragupta,  it  is  as  easy  to 
believe  the  statement  concerning  that  king  as  concerning  any  of 
his  successors.  The  Gupta  sovereigns  without  exception  appear 
from  their  coinage  and  inscriptions  to  have  been  officially  Brah- 
manical  Hindus,  but  that  would  not  necessarily  hinder  any  of 
them  from  taking  a  warm  personal  interest  in  Buddhism.  The 
similar  case  of  Harsha  in  the  seventh  century  is  familiar  to  all 
students  of  Indian  history.  The  general  result  is  that  the  verse 
quotedby  Vamana,  as  interpreted  by  the  commentator,  agrees  with 
and  supports  in  a  measure  M.  Peri's  view  of  the  chronology  of 
Vasubandhu. 

*  It  is  probable  that  Kacha  or  Ka-  lions  on  the  Gupta  Coinage,'  /.  7?. 

cha,who  issued  a  few  rare  gold  coins,  A.  S.,  1893,  p.  95\    Kacha's  transi- 

was  a  brother  of  Samudragupta  and  tory  reign,  if  real,  may  be  ignored, 

reigned  for  a  few  months  before  The  alternative  is  to  regard  him  as 

Samudragupta,  the  successor  chosen  identical  with  Samudragupta.    For 

by  their  father   (line  seven  of  the  Harishena's  composition,  see  Fleet, 

Allahabad  inscription),  estabhshed  Gupta  Inscriptions,  No.  I. 
himself  (V.   A.  Smith,   'Observa- 


332  THE   GUPTA   EMPIRE 

Para-  I  now  turn  to  the  testimony  of  Paramartha,  who  wrote  the 

niarthjx  s     Jifg  of  Vasubandhu  at  some  time  between  a.  d.  546  and  569.    The 
y^  oj        treatise  has  been  preserved  in  Chinese,  and  the  substance  of  it 
handhu.       ^^'^^  been  pubHshed  by  Dr.  Takakusu  in  the  J.  R.  A.  S.  for  1905. 
Paramartha  states  that  king  Vikramaditya  of  Ayodhya,  who 
had  at  first  patronized  the  Saiiikhya  school  of  philosophy,  was 
induced  by  Vasubandhu  to  take  an  interest  in  Buddhism,  and  to 
send  his  queen,  with  the  crown  prince  Buladitya,  to  study  under 
the  famous  teacher.     When  Baladitya  became  king,  he  invited 
V'asubandhu  to  Ayodhya  and  favoured  him  with  special  patron- 
age.    Vasubandhu  died  at  that  city,  aged  eighty.     Vasurata,  a 
Brahman  grammarian,  who  had  a  controversy  with  Vasubandhu, 
was  mari'ied  to  king  Baladitya's  sister.^ 

In  my  second  edition  I  assumed  that  the  Vikramaditya  of 
Paramartha  must  mean  Skandagupta,  and  that  his  son  Baladitya 
must  be  interpreted  to  mean  king  Nai-a  Baladitya,  of  whom  Ave 
possess  coins,  and  who  was  the  son  of  Puragupta.  Probably 
Puragupta  was  the  brother  of  Skandagupta,  and  Paramartha's 
'  son '  was  therefore  taken  to  be  equivalent  to  '  brother's  son '. 
It  is  well  known  that  Hindus  often  make  no  distinction  between 
their  own  sons  and  those  of  bi-others. 

But  if  it  be  true,  as  M.  Peri  seems  to  prove,  that  Vasubandhu 
lived  and  died  in  the  fourth  century,  Paramartha's  Vikramaditya, 
like  the  Chandragupta  of  Vamana's  quotation,  must  mean 
Chandra-gupta  I  (320  to  c.  330).  Although  there  is  no  clear 
evidence  that  that  king  ever  used  the  title  V^ikramaditya,  thei*e 
is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  have  done  so,  as  both  Chandra- 
gupta II  and  Skandagupta  certainly  did.  Mr.  E.  Thomas  ascribed 
to  Chandra-gupta  I  the  umbrella  gold  coins  with  the  title  Vikra- 
maditya, and  that  attribution  may  be  defended,  but  the  weight  of 
evidence  favours  the  assignment  of  those  coins  to  the  second 
Chandra-gupta.  Anyhow,  the  traditional  use  of  the  title  Vikra- 
maditya for  any  Gupta  king  need  not  cause  serious  difficulty. 
Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  doubt  that  Chandra-gupta  I  possessed 
Ayodhya,  or  that  he  may  have  held  his  court  there  as  well  as  at 
Pataliputra.  His  rare  coins  are  found  both  in  the  modern  province 
of  Oudh  and  in  the  surrounding  districts.^      If  the  king  Vikra- 

'  Note  the  marriage  of  a  Brah-  as   well    as    by  Skandagupta    (in 

man  with  a  princess  belonging  to  a  silver   only) ;    Mahendraditya  and 

family   ranking  in    the   Kshatriya  Mahendra  were  favoured  by  Kuma- 

class.  ragupta  I  ;  Kraniaditya  by  Kuma- 

^  The    attribution    of    the    urn-  ragupta     II     and     Skandagupta; 

brella   type  of  gold   coins   is  dis-  Paramaditya    (not     Paraditya    as 

cussed   by  V.   A.   Smith   in   'The  printed)  by  Skandagupta;  Praka^a- 

Coinage  of  the   Gupta   Dynasty',  ditya  by  '?)  Puragupta;  and  Bala- 

J.  R.  A.S.,  1889,  p.  92.     For  titles  ditya  by  Naragupta.    The  Faridpur 

ofGupta kings,  see 'Observations',  inscription  from  E.  Bengal  in  early 

ut    supra,   p.    126.     Vikramaditya  Gupta  script    records   a    Mahara- 

andvikrama  were  used  by  Chandra-  jadhiraja  Dharmaditya,  and  gives 

gupta  II  (gold,  silver,  and  copper),  him  Samudragupta's  special  epithet 


EVIDENCE   OF   HIUEN  TSANG 

maditya  of  Ayodhya  of  Paramrirtha  means  the  first  C^handra-gupta, 
then  Baladitya  (v.  I.  Praditya)  must  be,  like  Vamana's  Chandra- 
praka^a  (-prabliava),  yet  another  title  of  Samudragupta,  That 
is  quite  possible,  although  the  title  has  not  yet  been  met  with  in 
inscriptions  or  coin  legends  of  Samudraguj)ta.  The  title  Pra- 
ka^aditya  was  actually  used  by  one  of  the  later  kings,  probably 
Puragupta,  the  brother  of  Skandagupta. 

We  now  turn  to  the  account  of  Vasubandhu  given  by  Hiuen 
Tsang  (Yuan  Chwang),  who  attaches  it  to  his  notes  on  Peshawar 
(Purushapura),  the  birth-place  of  Vasubandhu,  which  the  pilgrim 
visited  apparently  in  a.d.  631.  His  book  was  published  in  China 
in  A.  D.  648. 

The  tradition  recorded  by  the  pilgrim  is  a  variant  of  that  em- 
bodied in  Paramartha's  Life  of  Vasubandhu.  According  to  Hiuen 
Tsang,  Vasubandhu  lived  '  within  the  1 000  years  after  the  Bud- 
dha's decease  ',  not '  within  900  years '.  Vikramaditya  is  described 
as  king  of  Sravasti,  not  of  Ayodhya,  and  is  said  to  have  reduced 
the  Indies  to  submission.  It  is  asserted  that  he  lost  his  kingdom 
and  was  succeeded  by  an  unnamed  king  who  show^ed  respect  to 
men  of  letters  (Watters,  i,  pp.  211-4).^ 

In  another  passage  (Watters,  i,  288)  Hiuen  Tsang  speaks  of 
a  king  Baladitya  of  Magadha,  who  was  a  zealous  Buddhist  and 
defeated  Mihirakula  (Mahirakula).  That  king  seems  to  have 
been  the  Nara  Bfdaditya  of  the  coins,  who  lived  in  the  close  of 
the  fifth  and  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixth  century.  The  pilgrim 
mentions  a  monastery  at  Nalanda  built  by  Vaji'a,  the  son  and  suc- 
cessor of  king  Baladitya,  presumably  the  same  person.  A  Bala- 
ditya chailya  at  Nalanda  is  also  referred  to  by  I-tsing  (I-ching) 
(Watters,  ii,  171).  No  king  Vajra  is  known  to  history. 
,  The  pilgrim's  description  of  the  Gupta  king  as  reigning  at 
Sravasti  is  not  inconsistent  with  Paramartha's  statement  that  he 
reigned  at  Ayodhya.  All  the  Gupta  kings  from  Chandra-gupta  I 
to  Skandagupta  probably  held  both  places.  There  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  either  of  the  kings  named  Chandragupta  ever 
'  lost  his  kingdom '.  That  loss  might  be  affirmed  with  tolerable 
certainty  about  Skandagupta,  but  not  about  any  of  his  powerful 
predecessors.  The  description  of  the  king  'who  showed  respect 
to  men  of  letters  '  agrees  with  that  of  the  son  of  Chandragupta  in 

apratiratha  (Hoernle,  in  Ind.  Ant.,  'king  and  queen'  coins  of  Chandra- 
xxi  (1893),  p.  45).  The  title  Dhar-  gupta  I,  four  are  recorded  as  coming 
maditya  has  a  Buddhist  look.  Can  from  places  in  Oudh,  and  in  all  pro- 
it  be  another  alias  of  Samudra-  babihty  some  of  the  other  speci- 
gupta,  as  formerly  suggested  by  mens  were  obtained  at  Ayodhya. 
Dr.  Hoernle  ?  It  would  be  suitable  ^  Watters  renders  '  men  of  emin- 
for  the  patron  of  Vasubandhu.  ence  '.  Beal  translates  '  who  widely 
But  now  {Ind.  Ant.,  1910,  p.  308)  patronized  those  distinguished  for 
Dr.  Hoernle  dates  the  record  in  literary  merit '.  It  seems  clear  that 
the  sixth  century.  Out  of  about  the  eminence  which  secured  the 
eighteen  known  specimens  of  the  royal  favour  was  of  a  literary  kind. 


334  THE   GUPTA   EMPIRE 

tlie  verse  cited  by  Vjimana,  and  is  fully  applicable  to  Samudra- 
gupta. 
Hiuen  Hiuen  Tsang's  story  may  be  treated  as  being  a  loose  version  of 

Tsang  t]je  tradition  recorded  better  and  at  an  earlier  date  by  Paramar- 
rh"^"  V  tha.  It  should  not  be  regarded  as  of  independent  historical 
value.  The  Bjiladitya  of  the  coins,  who  opposed  Mihirakula  and 
erected  buildings  at  Njllanda,  must  be  distinct  from  the  patron  of 
Vasubandhu. 
Summary.  To  sum  up.  If  M.  Peri  is  right,  as  he  clearly  appears  to  be,  in 
holding  that  Vasubandhu  lived  and  died  in  the  fourth  century,  the 
Gupta  king  who  patronized  him  must  have  been  the  learned  and 
accomplished  Samudragupta,  son  and  successor  of  Chandra-gupta  I, 
who  may  have  been  actually  known  as  Vikramaditya.  It  is  also 
possible  that  that  title,  even  if  not  actually  assumed  by  Chandra- 
gupta  I,  may  have  been  traditionally  assigned  to  him  as  being  an 
ordinary  recognized  title  applicable  to  any  Gupta  king.  There 
is  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt  that  Samudragupta  was  actually 
in  possession  of  both  Ayodhya  and  Sravasti,  and  in  all  pi-obability 
his  father  was  so  likewise.  Assuming  the  recorded  traditions 
connecting  Vasubandhu  with  a  Gupta  king  to  be  well  founded, 
it  follows  that  Samudragupta  in  his  youth  must  have  borne  the 
titles  of  both  Chandrapraka^a  (-prabhava)  and  Baladitya  or 
Paraditya.  There  is  no  real  difficulty  about  believing  that  to  be 
the  fact. 

I  therefore  conclude  that  Samudragupta  received  Vasabandhu, 
the  Buddhist  author  and  patriarch,  at  court,  either  as  a  minister 
or  as  an  intimate  counsellor,  with  the  sanction  and  approval  of 
his  father  Chandra-gupta  I,  and,  further,  that  Samudragupta, 
although  officially  a  Bi'ahmanical  Hindu,  studied  Buddhism  in 
his  youth  with  interest  and  partiality. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE  REIGN  OF  HARSHA  FROM  A.D.  606  TO  647 

The  deficiency  of  material  which  embarrasses  the  historian  Seventh 
when  dealing  with  the  latter  half  of  the  sixth  century  is  no  sourceJof 
longer  experienced  when  he  enters  upon  the  seventh.  For  history, 
this  period  he  is  fortunate  enough  to  possess,  in  addition  to 
the  ordinary  epigraphic  and  numismatic  sources,  two  con- 
temporary literary  works,  which  shed  much  light  upon  the 
political  condition  of  India  generally,  and  supply,  in  par- 
ticular, abundant  and  trustworthy  information  concerning 
the  reign  of  Harsha,  who  ruled  the  North  as  paramount 
sovereign  for  more  than  forty  years.  The  first  of  these  works 
is  the  invaluable  book  of  travels  compiled  by  the  Chinese 
pilgrim,  Hiuen  Tsang,  who  visited  almost  every  part  of  India 
between  a.  d.  630  and  644,  and  recorded  observations  more 
or  less  minute  about  each  state  and  province.  The  narrative 
in  the  Travels  is  supplemented  by  the  pilgrim's  biography, 
written  by  his  friend  Hwui-li,  which  supplies  many  additional 
details.  The  second  work  alluded  to  is  the  historical  romance 
entitled  ^  The  Deeds  of  Harsha '  [Harsha-charita),  composed 
by  Bana,  a  Brahman  author,  who  lived  at  the  court  and 
enjoyed  the  patronage  of  the  hero  of  his  tale.  Further 
information  of  much  interest  and  importance  is  given  by  the 
official  Chinese  histories ;  and  when  all  sources  are  utilized, 
our  knowledge  of  the  events  of  the  reign  of  Harsha  far 
surpasses  in  precision  that  which  we  possess  respecting  any 
other  early  Indian  king,  except  Chandragupta  Maurya  and 
Asoka. 

From  remote  ages  the   country  surrounding  the  city  of  Raja  Pra- 
Thanesar  (Sthanvisvara)  ^  has  been  holy  ground,  known  as  the  va^dhana 

of  Thane- 
•  Sthanvisvara,   from    Sthdnu,   a       is    also    spelt    Sthdne^vara,    from  sar. 
name    of   Siva,  locally   used,  and      sthdna,  '  shrine,'  and  is'vara. 
is'vara,  'lord'  (Bana).     The  name 


336  THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 

'  Land  of  Kiiru ' ,  and  famous  as  the  battle-field  of  legendary 
heroes.     In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  the  Raja  of 
Thancsar,  Prabhakara-v^ardhana  by  name,  had  raised  himself 
to  considerable  eminence  by  successful  wars  against  his  neigh- 
bours, including  the  Malavas,  the  Hun  settlements  in  the 
North-western  Panjab,  and  the  Gurjaras,  probably  those  of 
Rajputana,  but  possibly  those  of  the  Gurjara  kingdom  in  the 
Panjab,  now  represented  by  the  Gujarat  and  Gujranwala 
Districts.    The  fact  that  his  mother  was  a  princess  of  Gupta 
lineage  no  doubt  both  stimulated  his  ambition  and  aided  its 
realization.^ 
His  war         In  the  year  604,  this  energetic  Raja  had  dispatched  his 
Huns.        elder  son  Rajya-vardhana,  a  youth  just  entering  upon  man- 
hood, with  a  large  army  to  attack  the  Huns  on  the  north- 
western  frontier;    while    his    younger    and    favourite    son, 
Harsha,  four  years  junior  to  the  Crown  Prince,  followed  his 
brother  with  a  cavalry  force  at  a  considerable  interval.     The 
elder  prince  having  advanced  into  the  hills  to  seek  the  enemy, 
the  younger  lingered  in  the  forests  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains to  enjoy  the  sport  of  all  kinds  which  they  offered  in 
abundance. 
A.  D.  605.        While  thus  pleasantly  employed,  Harsha,  who  was  then  a 
vardhana    ^^^  fifteen  years  of  age,  received  news  tliat  his  father  lay 
ace.  dangerously  ill  with  a  violent  fever.     He  returned  to  the 

capital  with  all  speed,  where  he  found  the  king  in  a  hopeless 
condition.  The  disease  quickly  ran  its  course,  and  all  was 
over  long  before  the  elder  son,  who  had  been  victorious  in 
his  campaign,  could  return  to  claim  his  birthright.  There 
are  indications  that  a  party  at  court  inclined  to  favour  the 
succession  of  the  younger  prince ;  but  all  intrigues  were 
frustrated  by  the  return  of  Rajya-vardhana,  who  ascended 
the  throne  in  due  course.     He  had  hardly  seated  himself 

1  The  family  genealogy  is  given  full  name  was  Harsha-vardhana. 

in  the  inscriptions,  viz.  [\)  Sonpat  Tlie  coins   found   in   the   Fyzabad 

seal  {Gupta  Inscr.,   No.    ,j2)  ;    (2)  District,  Oudh,  bearing  the  names 

Banskhera  copper-plate  {Ep.  Ind  ,  or  titles  Pratapaslla  and  6lladitya, 

iv,  208) ;  (3)  Madhuban  copper-plate  appear  to  have  been  issued  respec- 

(ibid.,  i,  (j7).    Mahasena-gupta  was  tiveiy  by  Prabhakara-vardhana  and 

the  mother  of  Prabhakara- vardhana,  Harsha   i^Burn,   ./.  R.  A.  S.,  1906, 

who   was   also  called   PratapaSila.  p.     815).       Hoernle    has    another 

His  queen  was  Yasomatl.  Harsha's  theory  (ibid.,  1909,  p.  Me). 


ACCESSION   OP    HARSHA  337 

when  news  arrived  which  compelled  him  again  to  take  the 
field. 

A   courier   hrouii^lit  the  distressini^  intelliiirence  that  kint;  War  with 

1VI"1    .- 

Grahavarman  Maukhari,  hushand  of  RajyasrI,  sister  of  the  ^  ^'^' 
princes,  had  been  slain  by  the  king  of  Malwa,'  who  cruelly 
misused  the  princess,  ^confining  her  like  a  brigand's  wife, 
with  a  pair  of  iron  fetters  kissing  her  feet,'  at  Kanauj. 
Rajyavardhana,  resolute  to  avenge  his  sister's  wrongs,  started 
at  once  with  a  mobile  force  of  10,000  cavalry;  leaving  the 
elephants  and  heavy  troops  behind  in  his  brother's  charge. 
The  king  of  Malwa  was  defeated  with  little  effort,  but  the 
joy  of  victory  was  turned  into  sorrow  by  the  receipt  of 
intelligence  that  the  victor  had  been  treacherously  slain  by 
the  vanquished  king's  ally,  Sasanka,  king  of  Central  Bengal,'^ 
who  had  inveigled  Rajya-vardhana  by  fair  promises  to  a 
conference,  and  had  assassinated  him  when  off  his  guard. 
Harsha  was  further  informed  that  his  widowed  sister  had 
escaped  from  confinement,  and  fled  to  the  Vindhyan  forests 
for  refuge ;  but  no  certain  news  of  her  hiding-place  could  be 
obtained. 

The  murdered  king  was  too  young  to  leave  a  son  capable  a.  d.  606. 
of  assuming  the  cares  of  government,  and  the  nobles  seem  ^^^^  * 
to  have  hesitated  before  offering  the  crown  to  his  youthful 
brother.  But  the  disorder  and  anarchy  from  which  the 
country  suffered  during  the  interregnum  forced  the  councillors 
of  state  to  come  to  a  decision  concerning  the  succession.  The 
ministers,  acting  on  the  advice  of  Bhandi,  a  slightly  senior 
cousin,  who  had  been  educated  with  tlie  young  princes, 
ultimately  resolved  to  invite  Harsha  to  undertake  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  royal  office.     For  some  reason,  which  is  not 

^  Doubts  have  been  expressed  as  ^  Gauda  ( Bana") ;  probably  iden- 

to  the  situation  of  the  Malwa  (Ma-  tical   with   Karna-suvarna    (Hiuen 

lava)   referred   to,  which  is   quite  Tsauf?).    The  capital  is  supposed  by 

uncertain.      Taranath    (Schiefner,  Mr.  Beveridge  to  havebeen  at  Ran- 

p.  251)  mentions  a  '  Malava  in  Pra-  garaati,  12  miles  south  of  Murshida- 

yaga'.    Grahavarman  may  or  may  bad  ( /.  A.  S.  B.,  Ixii,  part  i  (1H93), 

not  have  been  lord  of  Kanauj.     He  pp.  315-28).     But  Monmohan  Cha- 

was  the  son  of  Avantivarman,  men-  kravarti  argues  that  more  probably 

tioned   in  an  inscription  from  the  it  was  Lakshraanavati  (Lakhnauti 

Shahabad  District  in  South  Bihar  or  Gaur)  (ibid.,  vol.  iv,  N.S.  (1908), 

(Fleet,  Gupta  Jnscr.,  p,  215).  p.  281)] 


338  THE   REIGN   OF    HARSHA 

apparent  on  the  face  of  the  story^  he  scrupled  to  express  his 
consent,  and  it  is  said  that  he  consulted  a  Buddhist  oracle 
before  accepting  the  invitation.  Even  when  his  reluctance, 
whether  sincere  or  pretended,  had  been  overcome  by  the 
favourable  response  of  the  oracle,  he  still  sought  to  pro- 
pitiate Nemesis  by  abstaining  at  first  from  the  assumption 
of  the  kingly  style,  modestly  designating  himself  as  Prince 
{Rajaputra)  Siladitya. 
Era  of  These  curious  details  indicate  clearly  that  some  unknown 

obstacle  stood  in  the  way  of  Harsha's  accession,  and  compelled 
him  to  rely  for  his  title  to  the  crown  upon  election  by  the 
nobles  rather  than  upon  his  hereditary'  claims.  The  Chinese 
work  entitled  Fang-chih  represents  Harsha  as  '  administering 
the  government  in  conjunction  with  his  widowed  sister',  a 
statement  which  suggests  that  he  at  first  considered  himself 
to  be  Regent  on  behalf  of  his  sister,  or  possibly,  an  infant 
child  of  his  late  brother.^  There  is  reason  to  suppose  that 
Harsha  did  not  boldly  stand  forth  as  avowed  king  until 
A.  D.  612,  when  he  had  been  five  and  a  half  or  six  years  on 
the  throne,  and  that  his  formal  coronation  or  consecration 
took  place  in  that  year.  The  era  called  after  his  name,  of 
which  the  year  1  was  a.  d.  606-7,  dated  from  the  time  of  his 
accession  in  October,  606.- 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  motives  which  influenced  the 
nobles  of  Thanesar  in  their  hesitation  to  offer  their  allegiance 
to  young  Harsha,  the  advice  of  Bhandi  was  justified  abun- 
dantly by  the  ability  of  his  nominee,  who  quickly  proved  his 
right  to  rule. 
Recovery  The  immediate  duties  incumbent  upon  him  obviously  were 
vaari.^'  ^^^  pursuit  of  his  brother^s  murderer,  and  the  recovery  of  his 
widowed  sister.    The  latter  task,  being  the  more  urgent,  was 

^  Watters,  i,  345.  more,'  Life  of  Hiiien  Tmng,  p.  183  . 

-  Kielhom    Ind.  Ant.,  xxvi,  32".  The  quinquennial  assembly  in  the 

Twenty   inscriptions   dated   in  the  spring  of  a.  d.  644  was  tne  sixth 

Harsha  era  are  known    Ep.  Ind.,  held   in   the  reign     Beal,   Life   of 

vol.  V,  App.  N'os.  528-47  .     When  U'men  Tunng,  p.  IS4  .     The  period 

Hiuen  Tsang  was  with  Harsha,  in  of  five  and  a  half  years   Julien  .  or 

A.  D.  643,  the  king's  reign  was  reck-  six  years    Watters  ,  spent  in   the 

oned   as    having   lasted   for   more  preliminary     subjugation     of     the 

than  thirty  years    Iturryrdu,  \,  213;  north,  is  not  included  in  this  compu- 

•  lord  of  Incha  for  thirty  years  and  tation. 


WARS  339 

undertaken  in  all  haste,  even  at  the  cost  of  permitting  the 

assassin's  escape.     The  haste  shown  was  none  too  great ;  for 

the  princess,  tlcspairing  of  rescue,  was  on  the  point  of  hurning 

herself  alive  with  her  attendants,  when  her  hrother,  guided 

by  aboriginal  chiefs,  succeeded  in  tracing  her  in  the  depths  of 

the  Viiulhyan  jungles.     The  details  of  the  campaign  against 

Sasanka  have  not  been  recorded,  and  it  seems  clear  that  he 

escaped  with  little  loss.     He  is  known  to  have  been  still  in 

power  as  late  as  the  year  619;   but  his  kingdom  probably 

became  subject  to  Harsha  at  a  later  date.^ 

Harsha,  having    recovered    his   sister — a   young   lady   of  Harsha's 

exceptional   attainments,    learned   in   the   doctrines   of    the  scheme  of 

.  .  .        .  conquest. 

Sammitiya  school  of  Buddhism — devoted  his  signal  ability 

and  energy  to  the  prosecution  of  a  methodical  scheme  of 

conquest,  with  the  deliberate  purpose  of  bringing  all  India 

'under  one   vmibrella '.     He  possessed  at  this  stage  of  his 

career  a  force  of  5,000  elephants,  520,000  cavalry,  and  50,000 

infantry.     Apparently  he  discarded  as  useless  the  chariots 

which  constituted,  according  to  ancient  tradition,  the  fourth 

arm  of  a  regularly  organized  Indian   host ;    although  they 

were  still  used  in  some  parts  of  the  coinitry.^ 

With  this   mobile   and  formidable   force   Harsha  overran  Thirtj-- 

Northei'n   India;    and,  in  the   picturesque  language  of   l^is  ^^^^  ^ ^^"^^ 

contemporary  the   Ciiinese   pilgrim,  '  he  went  from  east  to 

west  subduing  all   who   were  not  obedient ;    the  elephants 

were  not  unharnessed,  nor  the  soldiers  unhelmcted.'     By  the 

end  of  five  and  a  half  years  the  conquest  of  the  north-western 

regions,  and  probably  also  of  a  large  portion  of  Bengal,  was 

completed ;  and  his  military  resources  were  so  increased  that 

he  was  able  to  put  in  the  field  60,000  war  elephants  and 

100,000   cavalry.     He  then   reigned   happily   for  thirty-five 

years  longer,  and  during   tliat   period   devoted   most  of   his 

immense  energy  to  the  governmrnt  of  his  extensive  dominions.^ 

*  Ganjrun  copper-plate  inscrijv  general  of  an  Indian  army  rode  in 
tion,  dated  c.k.  300,  a. n.  (Jl!)-l;iO  a  four-horsed  chariot,  protected  by 
(ZiV-  Ind.,  \'i,  H3).  Hiuen  Tsang  a  body-guard  Heal,  /wcon/.s-,  i,  82). 
refers  to  Sasanka  as  a  recent  king,  "  Tlie  pilgrim's  statement  that 
and  mentions  no  successor.  the  king,  ai'ter  the  subjugation  of 

*  In  his  general  description  of  Northern  India,  completed  in  (il?, 
India,  lliuen  Tsaug  tells  now  the  '  reigned   in  peace  for  thirty  years 

z  2 


340  THE   REIGN   OF  HARSHA 

His  last  recorded  campaign,  an  attack  on  the  sturdy  inhabit- 
ants of  Ganjam,  on  the  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  took 
place  in  a.  d.  643. 
Defeat  by  His  long  career  of  victory  was  broken  by  one  failure, 
^in  11*^^  Pulakesin  H,  the  greatest  of  the  Chalukya  dynasty,  whose 
Chalukya.  achievements  will  be  noticed  more  fully  in  a  later  chapter, 
vied  with  Harsha  in  the  extent  of  his  conquests,  and  had 
raised  himself  to  the  rank  of  lord  paramount  of  the  South, 
as  Harsha  was  of  the  North.  The  northern  king,  who  could 
not  willingly  endure  the  existence  of  so  powerful  a  rival, 
essayed  to  overthrow  him,  advancing  in  person  to  the  attack, 
with  '  troops  from  the  five  Indies  and  the  best  generals  from 
all  countries^.  But  the  effort  failed.  The  king  of  the 
Deccan  guarded  the  passes  on  the  Narmada  so  effectually 
that  Harsha  was  constrained  to  retire  discomfited,  and  to 
accept  that  river  as  his  frontier.  This  campaign  may  be 
dated  about  the  year  a.d.  620.^ 
War  with  The  war  with  Valabhi,  which  resulted  in  the  complete 
Valabhi.  j^fg.^^  Qf  Dhruvasena  (Dhruvabhata)  II,  and  the  flight  of 
that  prince  into  the  dominions  of  the  Raja  of  Bharoch 
(Broach),  who  relied  probably  on  the  powerful  support  of  the 
Chalukya  monarch,  seems  to  have  occurred  later  than  a.d.  633 
and  before  Hiuen  Tsang^s  visit  to  Western  India  in  641  or 
642.  Dhruvabhata,  as  already  related,  was  compelled  to  sue 
for  peace,  to  accept  the  hand  of  the  victor's  daughter,  and  to 
be  content  w4th  the  position  of  a  feudatory  vassal.  The 
same  campaign  may  be  presumed  to  have  involved  the  sub- 
mission of  the  kingdoms  or  countries  of  Anandapura,  Ki-c'ha, 
or  (?)  Cutch,  and  Soratha,  or  Southern  Kathiawar,  all  of  which 
in  A.  D.  641  were  still  reckoned  to  be  dependencies  of  Mo-la- 
p*o,  or  Western  Malava,  formerly  subject  to  Valabhi.^ 

without  raising  a  weapon,'    must  phrases  are  used  as  commonplaces 

not  be  interpreted  Hterally,  for  as  in  Sanskrit  inscriptions. 

a  matter  of  fact,  the  wars  with  Pula-  ^  Ma-twan-hn,  the  Chinese  ency- 

kHin    II    and   Valabhi    occurred.  clopaedist   (Max  Miiller,  India,  p. 

'ThetexUsCh'ni-mn-nhih-nlen-pinff-  287).     Dr.  Fleet's  date,  609  or  610, 

ko-jnt^ch'i.     Here  the  word  ch'ni  is  is  impossible,  Harsha   being   then 

employed,  as  frequently,  to  denote  engaged    in    the    subjugation    of 

"don   the   imperial  robe",  that  is  Northern  India. 

"  to  reign    gently   and    happily  "  '  ^  Grant  of   Dadda   of    Bharoch 

(Watters,    i,    343,    346;.      Similar  {^Ind.  Ant.,  xiii,  70j.     The  event  is 


ParlaKimedi 


BAY 


O  \F 


N      G 


INDIA   IN     A.D.  640 

EMPIRE   OF  HARSHA. 

(travels  of    hiuen  tsang) 


ri 


ADMINISTRATION  341 


In  the  latter  j^ears  of  his  reign  the  sway  of  Ilarsha  over  Extent  of 

Harsha'" 
empire. 


the  whole  of  the  basin  of  the  Ganges   (including  Nepal),^     '^^^  ^^ 


from  the  Himalaya  to  tlie  Narmada,  besides  Malwil,  Gujarat, 
and  Surashtra,  was  undisputed.  Detailed  administration  of 
course  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  local  Rajas,  but  even  the 
king  of  distant  Assam  (Kamariipa)  in  the  east  obeyed  the 
orders  of  the  suzerain,  whose  son-in-law,  the  king  of  Valabhl 
in  the  extreme  west,  attended  in  the  imperial  train. 

For  the  control  of  his  extensive  empire,  Harsha  relied  His  pro- 
upon  his  personal  supervision,  exercised  with  untiring  energy,  S^^^^^^- 
rather  than  upon  the  services  of  a  trained  bureaucracy. 
Except  during  the  rainy  season,  when  travelling  with  a 
huge  camp  was  impracticable  and  opposed  to  Buddhist  rule, 
he  was  incessantly  on  the  move,  punishing  evil-doers,  and 
rewarding  the  meritorious.  Luxurious  tents,  such  as  were 
used  by  the  Moghal  emperors,  and  still  form  the  movable 
habitations  of  high  Anglo-Indian  officials,  had  not  then  been 
invented,  and  Harsha  was  obliged  to  be  content  with  a 
^travelling  palace^  made  of  boughs  and  reeds,  which  was 
erected  at  each  halting-place,  and  burnt  at  his  departure.^ 
He  was  accustomed  to  move  in  great  state,  being  accom- 
panied by  several  hundred  drummers,  who  beat  a  note  on 
golden  drums  for  each  step  taken.  No  other  king  was 
allowed  to  use  such  '  music-pace  drums  \^' 

Hiuen  Tsang,  like  his  predecessor  Fa-hien,  more  than  two  Civil  ad- 
centuries  earlier,  was  favourably  impressed  by  the  character  ^n'st*"^" 
of    the    civil    administration,    which    he    considered    to    be 
founded   on    benign    principles.      The    principal    source    of 
revenue  was   the  rent  of  the   crown   lands,   amounting,   in 
theory  at   all   events,  to   one-sixth   of   the   produce.      The 

discussed  by   M.  Ettinghausen  in  List  of  Northern  hiscriptions,  Ep. 

pp.  47-9  of  his  interesting   mono-  Jnd.,  vol.  v,  App.  p.  75. 
graph,  Harm  Vardhana,  empereur  ^  Beal,  i??ffo?<is,  ii,  193;  Watters, 

ei  poetedeTIndu  sfiptentrionale,  606-  ii,  183.    The  kings  of  Burma  in  the 

48  a.  D.;  Louvain,  1906.  eighteenth    century    followed    the 

^  MM.  Sylvain  Levi  and  Etting-  same  practice.     A  spacious  and  by 

hausen  (pp.  47,  184)  deny  the  con-  no   means  uncomfortable  dwelling 

quest  of  Nepal  by  Harsha  and  the  of  the  royal  order  of  architecture 

use  of  his  era  in  that  country  ;  but,  was  erected  in  a  day  (Symes,  Em- 

I  think,  without  adequate  reason.  hasity  to  Ava,  i,  283,  Constable). 
See  Ind.  Ant.,  xiii,  421  ;  Kielhorn,  '  Beal,    Life    of   Iliuen    Tsiang, 

p.  173. 


THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 


officials  were  remunerated  by  grants  of  land ;  compulsory 
labour  upon  public  works  was  paid  for ;  taxes  were  light ; 
the  personal  services  exacted  from  the  subject  were  moderate 
in  amount ;  and  liberal  provision  was  made  for  charity  to 
various  religious  communities. 
Police  and  Violent  crime  was  rare,  but  the  roads  and  river  routes 
crime.  evidently  were  less  safe  than  in  Fa-hien's  time,  as  Hiuen 
Tsang  was  stopped  and  robbed  by  brigands  more  than  once. 
Imprisonment  was  now  the  ordinary  penalty,  and  it  was  of  the 
cruel  Tibetan  type ;  the  prisoners,  we  are  told,  '  are  simply 
left  to  live  or  die,  and  are  not  counted  among  men.'  The 
other  punishments  were  more  sanguinary  than  in  the  Gupta 
period  :  mutilation  of  the  nose,  ears,  hands,  or  feet  being 
inflicted  as  the  penalty  of  serious  ofPences,  and  even  for  failure 
in  filial  piety ;  but  this  penalty  was  sometimes  commuted  for 
banishment.  Minor  offences  were  visited  with  fines.  Ordeals 
by  water,  fire,  weighment,  or  poison  were  much  esteemed  as 
efficient  instruments  for  the  ascertainment  of  truth  ;  and  are 
described  with  approval  by  the  Chinese  pilgrim. 

Official  records  of  public  events  were  kept  in  every  province 
by  special  officers,  whose  duty  it  was  to  register  ^good  and 
evil  events,  with  calamities  and  fortunate  occurrences '.  Such 
records  were,  no  doubt,  consulted  by  the  writers  of  the  great 
historical  inscriptions,  but  no  specimen  of  them  has  survived. 
Education  Education  evidently  was  diffused  widely,  especially  among 
literature.  ^^^^  Brahmans  and  numerous  Buddhist  monks ;  and  learning 
was  honoured  by  the  government.     King  Harsha  was  not 


Official 
records 


m\^^i^%'^S^^4t; 


-J-"-  cC^vt-^  X-  oLy'  CT.       AVjL        HoA;4t»-«HOk 


AuTocnArii  of  Kivo  Hahsha. 


only  a  lil)eral  patron  of  literary  merit,  but  was  himself  an 
accomplished  calligrapliist  and  an  author  of  reputation. 
Besides  a  grammatical  work,  three  extant  Sanskrit  plays  and 
sundry  compositions  in  verse  are  ascribed  to  his  pen  ;   and 


LITERATURE  343 

there  is  no  reason  for  hesitating  to  believe  that  he  had  at 
least  a  large  share  in  their  composition,  for  royal  authors 
were  not  uncommon  in  ancient  India.  One  of  these  plays, 
the  Ndgananda,  which  has  an  edifying  Buddhist  legend  for 
its  subject,  is  considered  to  rank  among  the  best  works  of 
the  Indian  theatre;  and  tiie  other  dramas,  the  Ratndvali, 
or  *  Necklace ',  and  the  Priyadarsika,  or  '  Gracious  Lady  \ 
although  lacking  in  originality,  are  praised  highly  for  their 
simplicity  of  both  thought  and  expression.^ 

The  greatest  ornament  of  the  literary  circle  at  Harsha's  Bana. 
court  was  the  Brahman  Bana,  author  of  the  historical 
romance  devoted  to  a  panegyrical  accoiuit  of  the  deeds  of 
his  patron,  which  is  an  amazingly  clever,  though  irritating, 
performance ;  executed  in  the  worst  possible  taste,  and  yet 
containing  passages  of  admirable  and  vivid  description.  The 
man  who  attributes  to  the  commander-in-chief,  Skandagupta, 
'a  nose  as  long  as  his  sovereign's  pedigree,*  may  be  fairly 
accused  of  having  perpetrated  the  most  grotesque  simile  in 
all  literature.  But  the  same  man  could  do  better,  and 
shows  no  lack  of  power  when  depicting  the  death-agony  of 
the  king.  '  Helplessness  had  taken  him  in  hand :  pain  had 
made  him  its  province,  wasting  its  domain,  lassitude  its  lair. 
.  .  .  He  was  on  the  confines  of  doom,  on  the  verge  of  the  last 
gasp,  at  the  outset  of  the  Great  Undertaking,  at  the  portal 
of  the  Long  Sleep,  on  the  tip  of  death's  tongue ;  broken  in 
utterance,  unhinged  in  mind,  tortured  in  body,  waning  in  life, 
babbling  in  speech,  ceaseless  in  sighs ;  vanquished  by  yawning, 
swayed  by  suffering,  in  the  bondage  of  wracking  pains.' 
Such  writing,  although  not  in  perfect  good  taste,  unmistak- 
ably beai's  the  stamp  of  power.^ 

One  campaign  had  sated  Asoka's  thirst  for  blood  ;  thirty-  Harsha's 

latter 
1  The  facsimile  of  Harsha's  auto-      translation  of  the  Nd{fdnanda.    For  ^^Y^- 
graph  is  from  the  Banskherainscrip-      royal  authors   see   Ind.   Ant.,  xx, 
tion.     Presumably  it  was  engraved      201.     Ettinghausen   discusses    the 
from   a    tracing    of    the    original.       literary  history  of  Harsha's  reign 
Similar  facsimile  royal  signatures      in  chapter  lii  of  his  work, 
frequently  occur  in  Mysore  inscrip-  ^  The  translation  of  Biina's  work 

tions  {A.S.  Pro().  Rep.,  1911-12,  by  Dr.  F.  W.  Thomas  and  the  late 
para.  109,  &c.).  For  the  plays  see  Professor  Cowell,  published  by  the 
Wilson,  Hindu  Theatre;  Sylvain  Royal  Asiatic  Society  in  1897,Ms 
Levi,  Thidtre  Indien ;  and  Boyd's      a  triumph  of  skill. 


34.4< 


THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 


His 

devotion. 


Benevo- 
lent and 
religious 
institu- 
tions. 


seven  years  of  warfare,  continuous  for  six  years,  and  inter- 
mittent for  the  rest  of  the  time,  were  needed  by  Harsha  before 
he  could  be  content  to  sheathe  the  sword.  His  hist  campaign 
was  fought  against  the  people  of  Ganjam  (Kongoda)  in  a.d. 
643,  and  then  at  last  this  king  of  many  wars  doffed  his 
armour,  and  devoted  himself  for  his  few  remaining  years  to 
the  arts  of  peace  and  the  practice  of  piety,  as  understood  by 
an  Indian  despot.  He  obviously  set  himself  to  imitate 
Asoka,  so  that  the  narrative  of  the  doings  in  the  latter  years 
of  Harsha's  reign  reads  like  a  copy  of  the  history  of  the  great 
Maury  a. 

At  this  period  the  king  began  to  show  marked  favour  to 
the  quietist  teachings  of  Buddhism,  first  in  its  Hinayana, 
and  afterwards  in  its  Mahayana  form.  He  led  the  life  of 
a  devotee,  enforcing  the  Buddhist  prohibitions  against  the 
destruction  of  animal  life  with  the  utmost  strictness  and 
scant  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  human  life.  ^He  sought^, 
we  are  told,  '  to  plant  the  tree  of  religious  merit  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  forgot  to  sleep  and  eat ' ;  and  forbade  the 
slaughter  of  any  living  thing,  or  the  use  of  flesh  as  food 
throughout  the  '  Five  Indies '  under  pain  of  death  without 
hope  of  pardon. 

Benevolent  institutions  on  the  Asokan  model,  for  the 
benefit  of  travellers,  the  poor,  and  sick,  were  established 
throughout  the  empire.  Rest-houses  (dharmsdld)  were  built 
in  both  the  towns  and  rural  parts,  and  provided  with  food 
and  drink,  physicians  being  stationed  at  them  to  supply 
medicines  to  the  necessitous  without  stint.  The  king  also 
imitated  his  prototype  in  the  foundation  of  numerous 
religious  establishments,  devoted  to  the  service  of  both  the 
Hindu  gods  and  the  Buddhist  ritual.  In  his  closing  years 
tlie  latter  received  the  chief  share  of  the  royal  favour;  and 
numerous  monasteries  were  erected,  as  well  as  several  thou- 
sand stupas,  each  about  100  feet  higli,  built  along  the  banks 
of  tlie  sacred  Ganges.  These  latter  structures  doubtless 
were  of  a  flimsy  character,  built  chiefly  of  timber  and 
bamboos,  and  so  have  left  no  trace ;  but  the  mere  multipli- 
cation of  stvpus,  however  perishable  the  materials  might  be, 


RELIGION  345 

was  always  a  work  of  merit.  Although  Buddhism  was 
visibly  waning  in  the  days  of  Harsha  and  Iliuen  Tsang,  the 
monks  of  the  order  were  still  numerous,  and  the  occupants  of 
the  monasteries  enumerated  by  the  pilgrim  numbered  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand.^  A  monastic  population  of  such 
magnitude  offered  abundant  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of 
princely  liberality. 

The  picture  of  the  state  of  religious  belief  and  practice  in  State  of 
India  during  the  seventh  century,  as  drawn  by  the  contem-  ^^  'S'^"- 
porary  authors,  is  filled  with  curious  and  interesting  details. 
The  members  of  the  royal  family  to  which  Harsha  belonged 
freely  acted  on  their  individual  preferences  in  the  matter  of 
religion.  His  remote  ancestor,  Pushyabhuti,  is  recorded  to 
have  entertained  from  boyhood  an  ardent  devotion  towards 
Siva,  and  to  have  turned  away  from  all  other  gods.  Harsha's 
father  was  equally  devoted  to  the  worship  of  the  Sun,  and 
daily  offered  to  that  luminary  '  a  bunch  of  red  lotuses  set  in 
a  pure  vessel  of  ruby,  and  tinged,  like  his  own  heart,  with  the 
same  hue'.  The  elder  brother  and  sister  of  Harsha  were 
convinced  Buddhists,  while  Harsha  himself  distributed  his 
devotions  among  the  three  deities  of  the  family,  Siva,  the  Sun, 
and  Buddha ;  ^  and  erected  costly  temples  for  the  service  of 
all  three.  But,  in  his  latter  years,  the  Buddhist  doctrines 
held  the  chief  place  in  his  affections ;  and  the  eloquence  of  the 
Chinese  Master  of  the  Law  induced  him  to  prefer  the  advanced 
teaching  of  the  Mahayana  sect  to  the  more  primitive  Hinayana 
doctrine  of  the  Sammitiya  school  with  which  he  had  been 
familiar  previously. 

The  religious  eclecticism  of  the  royal  family  was  the  reflec-  Royal 
tion  and  result  of  the  state  of  popular  religion  at  the  time,  ^.jgnj 
Buddhism,  although  it  had  certainly  lost  the  dominant  posi- 
tion in  the  Gangetic  plain  which  it  had  once  held,  was  still 
a  powerful  force,  and  largely  influenced  the  public  mind. 
The  Jain  system,  which  had  never  been  very  widely  spread 
or  aggressive  in  the  North,  while  retaining  its  hold  on  certain 

^  /.  R.  A.S.,  1891,  pp.  418-21.  the  seventh  century  is  in  question, 

2  It  is,   of  course,   not    strictly  the  inaccuracy  is  little  more  than 

accurate  to  describe  Buddha  as  a  formal. 

deity ;  but,  when  the  Buddhism  of 


346 


THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 


Persecu- 
tion by 
sa^anka. 


localities,  especially  at  Vaisilli  and  in  Eastern  Benfral,  could 
not  pretend  to  rival  the  general  popularity  of  either  Buddhism 
or  Puranic  Hinduism.  The  last-named  modification  of  the 
Hindu  system  was  now  firmly  established,  and  the  earlier 
Puranas  were  already  revered  as  ancient  and  sacred  writings. 
The  bulk  of  the  population  in  most  provinces  was  then,  as 
now,  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Puranic  gods ;  each  man 
and  woman  being,  of  course,  free  to  select  a  particular  deity, 
Siva,  the  Sun,  Vishnu,  or  another,  for  special  adoration  accord- 
ing to  personal  predilection.  As  a  rule,  the  followers  of 
the  various  religions  lived  peaceably  together ;  and  no  doubt 
many  people  besides  the  king  sought  to  make  certain  of  some 
divine  support  by  doing  honour  to  all  the  principal  objects  of 
popular  worship  in  turn. 

But,  while  toleration  and  concord  were  the  rule,  exceptions 
occurred.  The  king  of  Central  Bengal,  Sasanka,  who  has 
been  mentioned  as  the  treacherous  murderer  of  Harsha's 
brother,  and  probably  was  a  scion  of  the  Gupta  dynasty,  was 
a  worshipper  of  Siva,  hating  Buddhism,  which  he  did  his  best 
to  extirpate.  He  dug  up  and  burnt  the  holy  Bodhi  tree  at 
Bodh  Gaya,  on  which,  according  to  legend,  Asoka  had 
lavished  inordinate  devotion ;  broke  the  stone  marked  with 
the  footprints  of  Buddha  at  Pataliputra ;  destroyed  the 
convents,  and  scattered  the  monks,  carrying  his  persecutions 
to  the  foot  of  the  Nepalese  hills.  These  events,  which  are 
amply  attested  by  the  evidence  of  Hiuen  Tsang,  who  visited 
the  localities  thirty  or  forty  years  later,  must  have  happened 
about  A.D.  600.  The  Bodhi  tree  was  replanted  after  a  short 
time  by  Purna-varman,  the  local  Raja  of  Magadha,  who  is 
described  as  being  the  last  descendant  of  Asoka,  and  as  such 
was  specially  bound  to  honour  the  object  venerated  by  his 
great  ancestor. 

The  details  given  by  Hiuen  Tsang  and  his  biographer 
animosi  y.  ^^.^^^  ^^.^^  ^^  times  bitter  animosity  marked  the  relations  of 
the  two  great  sections  of  the  Buddhist  church  with  one 
another  ;  and  that  equal  ill-feeling  was  evoked  in  the  breasts 
of  Puranic  Hindus,  when  they  beheld  tlie  royal  favours 
lavished  upon  their  Buddhist  rivals.      It  is  clear^  therefore. 


Sectarian 


DISPUTATIONS  347 

that  general  statements  concerning  the  perfect  religious 
toleration  enjoyed  in  ancient  India  can  be  accepted  only 
with  a  certain  amount  of  reservation.  Official  persecutions 
and  popular  ebullitions  of  sectarian  rancour  undoubtedly 
occurred  from  time  to  time,  although  they  were  not  frequent. 

Harsha  himself  sometimes  offended  against  the  principle  of  Disputa- 
perfect  religious  toleration  and  ecpiality.  Like  Akbar,  and 
many  other  Indian  sovereigns,  he  was  fond  of  listening  to  the 
expositions  of  rival  doctors,  and  heard  with  pleasure  the  argu- 
ments adduced  by  the  learned  Chinese  traveller  in  favour 
of  the  Mahayana  form  of  Buddhism,  with  the  doctrines 
of  which  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  familar.  An 
interesting  illustration  of  the  freedom  of  ancient  Hindu 
society  from  the  trammels  of  the  system  of  female  seclusion 
favoured  by  the  Muhammadans,  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that 
his  widowed  sister  sat  by  the  king's  side  to  hear  the  lecture 
by  the  Master  of  the  Law,  and  frankly  expressed  the  delight 
which  she  received  from  the  discourse.  One  Chinese  autho- 
rity even  asserts  that  Harsha  administered  the  government  in 
conjunction  with  her,  as  already  noted.^ 

The  king  was  determined  that  his  favourite  should  not  Harsha's 
be  defeated  in  controversy  ;  and  when  opponents  were  invited  tio^.^™*' 
to  dispute  the  propositions  of  the  Chinese  scholar,  the  terms 
of  the  contest  were  not  quite  fair.  Harsha,  having  heard 
a  report  that  Hiuen  Tsang's  life  was  in  danger  at  the  hands 
of  his  theological  rivals,  issued  a  proclamation  concluding 
with  the  announcement  that 

*if  any  one  should  touch  or  hurt  the  Master  of  the  Law, 
he  shall  be  forthwith  executed ;  and  whoever  speaks  against 
him,  his  tongue  shall  be  cut  out ;  but  all  those  who  desire  to 
profit  by  his  instructions,  relying  on  my  goodwill,  need  not 
fear  this  manifesto.^ 

The  pilgrim's  biographer  naively  adds  that 

^from  this  time  the  followers  of  error  withdrew  and  dis- 
appeared, so  that  when  eighteen  days  had  passed,  there  had 
been  no  one  to  enter  on  the  discussion.' ^ 

^  The  Fang-chih  (Waiters,  USi'S).       180,    In  the  second  edition,  a  legend 
*  Beal,  Life  of  Hiuen  Tsiang,  p.       related    by    Taranath    (Schiefner, 


348  THE  REIGN   OF   HARSHA 

Assembly  King  Harsha  was  so  delighted  with  the  discourse  of  Hiuen 
anauj.  'pgg^jjg^  whom  he  had  met  while  in  camp  in  Bengal,  that  he 
I  resolved  to  hold  a  special  assembly  at  Kanauj,  then  his 
'  capital,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  utmost  publicity  to 
the  Master's  teaching.  The  king  marched  along  the  southern 
bank  of  the  Ganges,  attended  by  an  enormous  multitude ; 
his  ally  Kumara,  King  of  Kamarupa,  with  a  large  but  less 
numerous  following,  keeping  pace  with  him  on  the  opposite 
bank.  Advancing  slowly  in  this  way,  Harsha,  Kumara, 
and  the  attendant  host  reached  Kanauj  in  the  course  of 
ninety  days,  and  there  encamped,  in  February  or  March, 
A.D.  643.^  The  sovereign  was  received  by  Kumara,  the 
Raja  of  Kamarupa,  who  had  accompanied  him  on  the 
march,  the  Raja  of  Valabhl  in  Western  India,  who  was  con- 
nected with  him  by  marriage,  and  eighteen  other  tributary 
rajas  ;  as  well  as  by  four  thousand  learned  Buddhist 
monks,  including  a  thousand  from  the  Nalanda  monastery 
in  Bihar,  and  some  three  thousand  Jains  and  orthodox 
Brahmans. 

Cere-  The  Centre  of  attraction  was  a  great  monastery  and  shrine 

specially  erected  upon  the  bank  of  the  Ganges,  where  a  golden 
image  of  Buddha,  equal  to  the  king  in  stature,  was  kept 
in  a  tower,  100  feet  high.  A  similar  but  smaller  image, 
3  feet  in   height,  was  carried  daily  in  solemn  procession, 

p.  128)  concerning  a  certain  king  Sri  Harsha  must  have  been  a  chief 

named  Sri  Harsha,  was  erroneously  in  Rajputana,  probably  of  Marwar, 

applied  to  Harsha  of  Kanauj.     The  the  first  country  named.    The  sixth 

historian    states    that   J^ri    Harsha  century  seems  to  be  indicated  as 

enticed    12,000    followers   of   out-  the    time.     Harsha    was    born    in 

laiidish    religions    to   assemble    in  Marwar,  and  ruled  all  the  kingdoms 

a  wooden  building,  where  he  burnt  of  the  west  (ibid.,  p.  IM).     Etting- 

thera  all  alive   with  their   books,  hausen{Har^aVardhana,p.Si),-who 

and  so  reduced  the  religion  of  the  also  erroneously  identified  the  Sri 

Persians  and  ^akas  to  very  narrow  Harsha  of  Marwar  with  Harsha  of 

limits  for  nearly  a  century.     This  Kanauj,   cites   Ceylonese   versions 

atrocity  is  said  to  have  taken  place  of  the  story  of  the  burning.    I  have 

near  Muitan.     Taranath  adds  that  not  yet  found  a   Raja   Harsha   in 

Sri  Harsha,  in  order  to  atone  for  the  Rajputana  lists,  but  there  was 

his  sins,  built  four  great  monasteries  a  town  called  Harshapura  in  Mewar 

severally  situated  in  Maru(  Marwar),  {/nd.    Ant.,    1910,  p.    187),  which 

Malava,  Mewar,  Pituva,  and  Chita-  may  have   been   named   after  the 

vara,  in  each  of  which  1,000  monks  hero  of  Taranath's  story, 
were  maintained.    I  cannot  identify  ^  '  It  was  now  the  second  month 

Pituva  or  Chitavara,  nor  can  I  de-  of  springtime '  (Beal,    Records,    i , 

termine  the  date;  but  it  is  clear  that  218). 


monies. 


CEREMONIES  349 

escorted  by  the  twenty  rajas  and  a  train  of  three  hundred 
elephants.  The  canopy  was  borne  by  Harsha  in  person, 
attired  as  the  god  Sakra,  while  his  ally,  Raja  Kumara,  the 
most  important  of  the  princes  in  attendance,  was  clad  as  the 
god  Brahma,  and  had  the  honour  of  waving  a  white  fly-whisk. 
The  sovereign,  as  he  moved  along,  scattered  on  every  side 
pearls,  golden  flowers,  and  other  precious  substances,  in 
honour  of  the  '  Three  Jewels ' — Buddha,  the  Religion,  and 
the  Order;  and,  having  with  his  own  hands  washed  the 
image  at  the  altar  prepared  for  the  purpose,  bore  it  on  his 
shoulder  to  the  western  tower,  and  there  offered  to  it 
thousands  of  silken  robes,  embroidered  with  gems.  Dinner 
was  succeeded  by  a  public  disputation  of  the  one-sided  kind 
already  described  ;  and  in  the  evening  the  monarch  returned 
to  his  ^  travelling  palace  \  a  mile  distant. 

These    ceremonies,    which    lasted   for   many   days,   were  Attempt 
terminated  by  startling  incidents.    The  temporary  monastery,  Harsha's 
which  had  been  erected  at  vast  cost,  suddenly  took  fire,  and  life. 
was  in  great  part  destroyed ;  but  Avhen  the  king  intervened  in 
person,  the  flames  were  stayed,  and  pious  hearts  recognized 
a  miracle. 

Harsha,  attended  by  his  princely  train,  had  ascended  the 
great  stupa  to  survey  the  scene,  and  was  coming  down 
the  steps,  when  a  fanatic,  armed  with  a  dagger,  rushed  upon 
him  and  attempted  to  stab  him.  The  assassin,  having  been 
captured  instantly,  was  closely  interrogated  by  the  king  in 
person,  and  confessed  that  he  had  been  instigated  to  commit 
the  crime  by  certain  *  heretics ',  who  resented  the  excessive 
royal  favour  shown  to  the  Buddhists.  Five  hundred  Brahmans 
of  note  were  then  arrested,  and  being  '  straitly  questioned ', 
were  induced  to  confess  that,  in  order  to  gratify  their  jealousy, 
they  had  fired  the  tower  by  means  of  burning  arrows,  and 
had  hoped  to  slay  the  khig  during  the  resulting  confusion. 
This  confession,  no  doubt  extorted  by  torture,  probably  was 
wholly  false ;  but,  whether  true  or  not,  it  was  accepted,  and 
on  the  strength  of  it  the  alleged  principals  in  the  plot  were 
executed,  and  some  five  hundred  Brahmans  were  sent  into 
exile. 


350 


THE   REIGN    OF   HARSHA 


tion  at 
Prayaga. 


Proceed- 
ings. 


A.D.  643.  After  the  close  of  the  proceedings  at  Kamiiij,  Harsha 
distribu-  invited  his  Chinese  guest  to  accompany  him  to  Prayaga 
(Allahabad),  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ganges  and  Jumna,  to 
witness  anotiier  imposing  ceremonial.  The  Master  of  the 
Law,  although  anxious  to  start  on  his  toilsome  homeward 
journey,  could  not  refuse  the  invitation,  and  accompanied 
his  royal  host  to  the  scene  of  the  intended  display.  Harsha 
explained  that  it  had  been  his  practice  for  thirty  years  past, 
in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  his  ancestors,  to  hold 
a  great  quinquennial  assembly  on  the  sands  where  the  rivers 
meet,  and  there  to  distribute  his  accumulated  treasures  to  the 
poor  and  needy,  as  well  as  to  the  religious  of  all  denomi- 
nations. The  present  occasion  (a.d.  643)  was  the  sixth  of 
the  series,  which  evidently  had  not  been  begun  until  Harsha 
had  consolidated  his  power  in  the  north. 

The  assembly  was  attended  by  all  the  vassal  kings  and 
a  vast  concourse  of  humbler  folk  estimated  to  number  half 
a  million,  including  poor,  orphans,  and  destitute  persons, 
besides  specially  invited  Brahmans  and  ascetics  of  every  sect 
from  all  parts  of  Northern  India.  The  proceedings  lasted 
for  seventy-five  days,  terminating  apparently  about  the  end 
of  April,  and  were  opened  by  an  imposing  procession  of 
all  the  rajas  with  their  retinues.  The  religious  services 
were  of  the  curiously  eclectic  kind  characteristic  of  the  times. 
On  the  first  day,  an  image  of  Buddha  was  set  up  in  one  of 
the  temporary  thatched  buildings  upon  the  sands,  and  vast 
quantities  of  costly  clothing  and  other  articles  of  value  were 
distributed.  On  the  second  and  third  days  respectively  the 
images  of  the  Sun  and  Siva  were  similarly  honoured,  but  the 
accompanying  distribution  in  each  case  was  only  half  the 
amount  of  that  consecrated  to  Buddha.  The  fourth  day  was 
devoted  to  the  bestowal  of  gifts  on  ten  thousand  selected 
religious  persons  of  the  Buddhist  order,  who  each  received 
one  hundred  gold  coins,  a  pearl,  and  a  cotton  garment, 
besides  choice  food,  drink,  flowers,  and  perfumes.  During 
the  next  following  twenty  days,  the  great  multitude  of 
Brahmans  were  the  recipients  of  the  royal  bounty.  They 
were  succeeded  by  the  people  whom  the  Chinese  author  calls 


DEPARTURE   OF   HIUEN   TSANG  351 

'heretics',  that  is  to  say,  Jains  and  members  of  sundry 
sects,  who  received  gifts  for  the  space  of  ten  days.  A  Hke 
period  was  allotted  for  the  bestowal  of  alms  upon  mendicants 
from  distant  regions ;  and  a  month  was  occupied  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  charitable  aid  to  poor,  orphaned,  and  destitute 
persons. 

*  By  this  time  the  accumulation  of  five  years  was  exhausted.  Extent  of 
Except  the  horses,  elephants,  and  military  accoutrements,  gifts. 
which  were  necessary  for  maintaining  order  and  protecting 
the  royal  estate,  nothing  remained.  Besides  these  the  king 
freely  gave  away  his  gems  and  goods,  his  clothing  and  neck- 
laces, ear-rings,  bracelets,  chaplets,  neck-jewel  and  bright 
head-jewel,  all  these  he  freely  gave  without  stint.  All  being 
given  away,  he  begged  from  his  sister  [Rajyasri]  an  ordinary 
second-hand  garment,  and  having  put  it  on,  he  paid  worship 
to  the  "  Buddhas  of  the  ten  regions ",  and  rejoiced  that 
his  treasure  had  been  bestowed  in  the  field  of  religious 
merit.' 

The  strange  assembly,  which  in  general  appearance  must  Depar- 

have   much   resembled  the  crowded  fair  still  held  annually  \^^^  °^ 

•'   Hiuen 

on  the  same  ground,  then  broke  up  ;  and,  after  a  further  Tsang. 
detention  of  ten  days,  Hiuen  Tsang  was  permitted  to  depart. 
The  king  and  Kumara  Raja  offered  him  abundance  of  gold 
pieces  and  other  precious  things,  none  of  which  would  he 
accept  save  a  fur-lined  cape,  the  gift  of  Kumara.  But 
although  the  Master  of  the  Law  uniformly  declined  gifts 
intended  to  serve  his  personal  use,  he  did  not  disdain  to 
accept  money  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  his  arduous 
journey  overland  to  China.  These  were  provided  on  a  liberal 
scale  by  the  grant  of  three  thousand  gold  and  ten  thousand 
silver  pieces  carried  on  an  elephant.  A  raja  named  Udhita 
was  placed  in  command  of  a  mounted  escort,  and  charged  to 
conduct  the  pilgrim  in  safety  to  the  frontier.  In  the  course 
of  about  six  months  of  leisurely  progress  interrupted  by 
frequent  halts,  the  raja  completed  his  task,  and  brought  his 
sovereign's  guest  in  safety  to  Jalandhar  in  the  east  of  the 
Panjab,  where  Hiuen  Tsang  stayed  for  a  month.  He  then 
started  with  a  fresh  escort,  and,  penetrating  with  difficulty 
the  defiles  of  the  Salt  Range,  crossed  the  Indus,  and  ulti- 


352 


THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 


mately  reached  his  home  in  distant  China  by  the  route  over 
the  Pamirs  and  through  Khotan^  in  the  spring  of  a.d.  645.^ 
His  death.  Tlie  pilgrim  did  not  come  home  empty-handed.  Notwith- 
standing losses  on  more  than  one  occasion,  due  to  accident 
or  robbery,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  safely  a  hundred  and 
fifty  particles  of  Buddha's  bodily  relics ;  sundry  images  of 
the  Teacher  in  gold,  silver,  and  sandal-wood ;  and  no  less 
than  657  distinct  volumes  of  manuscripts,  carried  upon 
twenty  horses.  The  rest  of  his  life  was  mainly  devoted  to 
the  work  of  translation,  and  he  had  completed  the  Chinese 
versions  of  seventy-four  separate  works  when  he  brought 
his  literary  labours  to  a  close  in  the  year  a.d.  661.  He  lived 
in  peace  and  honour  for  three  years  longer,  and  then  calmly 
passed  away,  leaving  behind  him  a  reputation  for  learning 
and  piety  surpassing  that  of  any  other  Buddhist  doctor. 

The  pages  of  Hiuen  Tsang  and  his  biographer  give  the 
latest  information  about  King  Harsha,  who  died  either  at 
the  end  of  64:6  or  the  beginning  of  647,  not  long  after  his 
distinguished  guest's  departure. 

During  his  lifetime  he  maintained  diplomatic  intercourse 
with  the  Chinese  empire.  A  Brahman  envoy,  whom  he  had 
sent  to  the  emperor  of  China  in  641,  returned  in  a.  d.  643, 
accompanied  by  a  Chinese  mission  bearing  a  reply  to  Harsha's 
dispatch.  The  mission  remained  for  a  considerable  time  in 
India,  and  did  not  go  back  to  China  until  a.d.  645.  The 
next  year,  Wang-hiuen-tse,  who  had  been  the  second  in 
command  of  the  earlier  embassy,  was  sent  by  his  sovereign  as 
head  of  a  new  Indian  mission,  M'ith  an  escort  of  thirty  horse- 
men. Early  in  a.d.  647,  or  possibly  at  the  close  of  646, 
King  Harsha  died,  leaving  no  heir,  and  the  withdrawal  of 
his  strong  arm  plunged  the  country  into  disorder,  which  was 
aggravated  by  famine. 

Arjuna,  or  Arunasva,  a  minister  of  the  late  king,  usurped 
the  throne,  and  took  the  field  with  '  barbarian '  troops  against 
the   Chinese   mission.     The    members   of   the    escort    were 


A.  n.  647. 
Death  of 
Harsha. 


Inter- 
course 
with 
China, 


*  '  Yuan-chuang  returned  to 
China,  and  arrived  at  Ch'ang-an  in 
the  beffinning  of  64s5,  the  nineteenth 
year  of  T'ang  T'ai  Tsung'  {Wallers, 


i,  11).  See  map  and  itinerary- 
appended  to  vol.  ii  of  Watters's 
work. 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  USURPER      353 

massacred^  or  taken  prisoners,  and  tlie  property  of  the 
mission,  including  tlie  articles  presented  by  Indian  kings, 
was  plundered ;  but  the  envoys,  Wang-hiuen-tse  and  his  col- 
league, were  fortunate  enougli  to  escape  into  Nepal  by  night. 

The  reigning  king  of  Tibet,  the  famous  Srong-tsan  Ganipo,  Defeat 
who  was  married  to  a  Chinese  princess,  succoured  the  fugitives,  usurper 
and  supplied  them  with  a  force  of  twelve   hundred  picked  by  the 
soldiers  supported  by  a  Nepalese  contingent  of  seven  thousand  envoy, 
horsemen,  Nepal  at  that  time  being  subject  to  Tibet.     With 
this  small  army  Wang-hiuen-tse  descended  into  the  plains, 
and,  after  a  three  days'  siege,  succeeded  in  storming  the  chief 
city  of  Tirhut.     Three  thousand  of  the  garrison  were  be- 
headed,   and  ten    thousand   persons    were    drowned    in    the 
neighbouring  river,  perhaps  the  Bagmati.     (?)  Arjuna  fled, 
and  having  collected  a  fresh  force,  offered  battle.     He  was 
again  disastrously  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.     The  victor 
promptly  beheaded  a    thousand    prisoners,    and   in    a   later 
action  captured  the  entire  royal  family,  took  twelve  thousand 
prisoners,  and  obtained  more  than  thirty  thousand  head  of 
horses   and  cattle.     Five  hundred  and  eighty  walled   towns 
made  their  submission  during  the  course  of  the  campaign, 
and  Kumara,  the  king  of  Eastern  India,  who  had  attended 
Harsha^s  assemblies  a  few  years  earlier,  sent  in  abundant 
supplies  of  cattle  and  accoutrements  for  the  victorious  army. 
Wang-hiuen-tse  brought  the  usurper  as  a  prisoner  to  China, 
and  was  promoted  for  his  services.     Afterwards,  in  a.d.  650, 
when  the  emperor  T'ai  Tsung  died  and  his  mausoleum  was 
erected,  the  approach  to  the  building  was  adorned  by  statues, 
which  included  the  effigies  of  the  Tibetan  king,  Srong-tsan 
Gampo,  and  of  the  usurper,  (?)  Arjuna.     Tirhut  apparently 
remained  subject  for  some  time  to  Tibet,  which  was  then 
a  powerful  state,  strong  enough  to  defy  the  Chinese  empire. 
Thus  ended  this  strange  episode,  which,  although  known  to 
antiquaries  for  many  years,  has  hitherto  escaped  the  notice  of 
the  historians  of  India. 

Wang-hiuen-tse  once  more  visited  the  scene  of  his  adven-  Third 
tures,  being  sent  by  imperial  order  in  a.d.  657  to  offer  robes  \vanff- 

at  the  Buddhist  holy  places.     He  entered    India   through  hiuen- 

tse. 
1626  A  a 


354 


THE    REIGN   OF   HARSHA 


The 

Panjab. 


Nepal,  by  the  Lhasa  road,  which  was  then  open  and  used  by 
many  Buddhist  pilgrims ;  and,  after  paying  his  respects  at 
Vaisali,  Bodh-Gaya,  and  other  sacred  spots,  returned  home 
through  Kapisa,  or  Northern  Afglianistan,  by  the  Hindu 
Kush  and  Pamir  route. ^ 
Kashmir  The  observations  of  Hiuen  Tsang  throw  considerable  light 
cenlu^*^°^^  upon  the  political  arrangements  of  India  in  the  regions 
beyond  the  limits  of  Harsha's  empire  during  the  seventh 
century.  In  the  north,  Kashmir  had  become  the  pre- 
dominant power,  and  had  reduced  the  kingdoms  of  Taxila 
and  the  Salt  Range  (Simhapura),  as  well  as  the  muior 
principalities  of  the  lower  hills,^  to  the  rank  of  dependencies. 
The  greater  part  of  the  Panjab  between  the  Indus  and 
the  Bias  rivers  was  comprised  in  the  kingdom  called  Tseh-kia, 
or  Cheh-ka,  by  the  pilgrim,  the  capital  of  which  was  an  un- 
named city  situated  close  to  Sakala  (Sialkot),  where  the  tyrant 
Mihiragula  had  held  his  court.  The  province  of  Multan, 
Avhere  the  Sun-god  was  held  in  special  honour,  and  a  country 
called  Po-fa-to,  pi-obably  Jamu,  to  the  north-east  of  Multan, 
were  dependencies  of  this  kingdom. 

Sind  was  remarkable  for  being  under  the  government  of 
a  Buddhist  king  belonging  to  the  Sudra  caste,  and  for  the 
large  number  of  Buddhist  monks  which  the  country  supported, 
estimated  at  ten  thousand.  But  the  quality  was  not  in  pro- 
portion to  the  quantity ;  most  of  the  ten  thousand  being 
denounced  as  idle  fellows  given  over  to  self-indulgence  and 
debauchery.  The  Indus  delta,  to  which  the  pilgrim  gives 
the  name  of  ^0-tien-p'o-chi-lo,  was  a  province  of  the  king- 
dom of  Sind. 2 


Sind. 


'  The  story  of  Wang-hiuen-t'se 
is  fully  related  in  M.  Sylvain  Levi's 
article,  '  Lcs  Missions  de  Wang- 
Hiuen-T'se  dans  I'lnde'  (/.  ^Is., 
1900;,  which  has  been  translated  in 
Ind.  Ant.,  I'Jll,  pp.  Ill  neqq.  The 
name  of  the  usurper  appears  in  the 
Chinese  text  as  Na-fu-ti  O-lo-na- 
shuen,  which  may  represent  either 
Arjuna  or  Aruna^va.  Lt.-Col. 
Waddell's  valuable  article,  'Tibetan 
Invasion  of  India  in  617  a.  d.  and 
its  Results'  (As.  Qu.  Rev.,  Jan., 
1911),  emphasizes  the  true  position 


of  Tibet  at  that  time,  and  corrects 
the  date  of  Harsha's  death. 

^  Ura^a,  or  Hazara ;  Parnotsa, 
or  Punach ;  Ilajapuri,  or  Rajauri, 
the  ancient  Abhisara. 

^  The  proper  Indian  equivalents 
of  Tseh-kia,  Po-fa-to,  and  '0-tien- 
p'o-chi-lo  are  not  known  with  any 
approach  to  certainty.  See  map. 
Many  stfqiuis  and  other  Buddhist 
remains  in  Sind,  hitherto  over- 
looked, are  now  coming  to  light 
(A.S.  W.I.,  I'roy.  Rep.,  1909-10, 
p.  40). 


KINGDOM   OF   SIND  355 

From  otlicr  sources  of  information  we  learn  that  tlie  Alor,  the 
Ivingdom  of  Sind,  of  which  Baluchistiui  was  a  dependency,  '^^^^  "^ ' 
in  those  days  was  rich  and  powerful,  far  more  populous  and 
fertile  than  it  is  now.  It  occupied  the  Mhole  valley  of  the 
Indus  from  the  neighbouriiood  of  the  Salt  Range  to  the  sea, 
and  was  separated  from  India  proper  by  the  '  lost  river ',  the 
Hakra  or  Wahindah,  the  Sin-tu  of  Iliuen  Tsang.  The 
capital,  to  \^hich  the  pilgrim  gives  the  name  of  P'i-shan-p'o- 
pu-lo,  was  Aror  or  Alor,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hakra, 
a  large  fortified  city,  the  ruins  of  which  are  still  traceable 
5  miles  to  the  soutli-east  of  Rohri  (Rurhi)  in  the  Sukkur 
(Sakhar)  District,  N.  hit.  27°  39',  E.  long.  68°  59'.  Accord- 
ing to  a  romantic  legend,  the  ruin  of  the  city  was  effected, 
about  A.D.  800,  by  a  merchant  named  Saif-ul-Muluk,  who 
diverted  the  waters  of  the  river  in  order  to  save  a  beautiful 
girl  from  the  clutches  of  a  licentious  rfija. 

The  Buddhist  king  of  the  Sudra  caste  mentioned  by  the  Kings  of 
pilgrim  must  be  Sihras  Rai,  son  of  Dlwajl,  who  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  Sahasi.  During  the  reign  of  Sihras  Rai,  the  ever- 
victorious  Arabs,  then  in  the  first  flush  of  enthusiasm,  entered 
Makran  (Baluchistan),  and  were  met  by  Sihras  Rai,  who  was 
defeated  and  slain.  Makran  was  permanently  occupied  by 
the  invaders  late  in  a.  d.  644,  and  about  two  years  later, 
Sahasi,  who  continued  to  oppose  the  foreign  enemy,  shared 
his  fathei-'s  fate.  The  sceptre  then  passed  into  the  hands  of 
a  Brahman  minister  named  Chach,  who  ruled  for  about  forty 
years.  Sind  was  invaded  by  the  Arabs  in  a.d.  710-11 
(a.h.  92),  under  the  command  of  Muhammad,  the  son  of 
Kasim,  who  defeated  and  killed  Dahir,  the  son  of  Chach,  in 
June,  A.D.  712.  From  that  date  the  ancient  Hindu  kingdom 
was  extinguished,  and  the  province  passed  permanently  into 
Muslim  hands. ^ 

The  kings  of  Ujjain  and  other  kingdoms  in  Central  India,  Central 
which  must  have  been  more  or  less  subject  to  Harsha^s  control,  ^"°''^- 

*  Raverty,  Notes  on  Afyhanistan,  more  accurate  than  those  of  Elliot, 

pp.  5o6-70,  663 ;  J.  A.  8.  B.,  j>a.Tt\  which  contain  many  errors.     The 

(1902),  pp.   233,  239,  251;   Elliot,  name  which  Elliot  (p.  405)   reads 

Hist,  of  India,  vol.  i,  Note  B,  p.  as  '  Kanauj '  really  is   Kinnauj,   a 

405.      Raverty's     statements     are  dependency  of  Multan. 

A  a2 


356 


THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 


Kama- 
rupa. 


Kalinga. 


Other 
kingdoiuh 


EflFect  of 
Harsha's 
death. 


belonged  to  the  Brahman  caste.  The  Ujjain  country  sup- 
ported a  dense  population,  comprising  few  Buddhists.  Most 
of  the  monasteries  were  in  ruins,  and  only  three  or  four, 
occupied  by  some  three  hundred  monks,  were  in  use.  The 
early  decay  of  Buddhism  in  this  region,  which  was  sanctified 
by  the  traditions  of  Asoka,  and  included  the  magnificent 
buildings  at  Sanchi,  is  a  curious  fact,  at  present  vniexplained. 

Bhaskara-varman,  or  Kumara  Raja,  the  King  of  Kamarupa, 
or  Assam,  M'ho  played  such  a  jsrominent  part  in  Harsha^s 
ceremonials,  also  was  described  as  being  by  caste  a  Brahman, 
and  M'ithout  faith  in  Buddha  ;  although  well  disposed  towards 
learned  men  of  all  religions.  He  was  so  far  subject  to  the 
sovereign  of  Northern  India,  that  he  could  not  afford  to 
disobey  Harsha's  commands.^ 

Kalinga,  the  conc^uest  of  which  had  cost  Asoka  such  bitter 
remorse  nine  hundred  years  earlier,  was  depopulated,  and 
mostly  covered  with  jungle.  The  pilgrim  observes  in  pic- 
turesque language  that  '  in  old  days  the  kingdom  of  Kalinga 
had  a  very  dense  population.  Their  shoulders  rubbed  one 
with  the  other,  and  the  axles  of  their  chariot  wheels  grided 
together,  and  w^hen  they  raised  their  arm-sleeves  a  perfect 
tent  was  formed  \  Legend  sought  to  explain  the  change  by 
the  curse  of  an  angry  saint. 

Hiuen  Tsang's  account  of  Kashmir,  Nepal,  and  the  king- 
doms of  the  South  and  West  will  be  noticed  in  due  course  in 
subsequent  chapters. 

Harsha's  death  loosened  the  bonds  which  restrained  the 
disrupti\'e  forces  always  ready  to  operate  in  India,  and 
allowed  them  to  produce  their  natural  result,  a  medley  of 
petty  states,  with  ever-\'arying  boundaries,  and  engaged  in 
unceasing  internecine  war.  Such  M'as  India  when  first 
disclosed  to  European  observation  in  the  fourth  century  B.C., 
and  such  it  always  has  been,  except  during  the  comparatively 
brief  periods  in  which  a  vigorous  central  government  has 


^  An  undated  copper))Iate  in- 
scription of  Bhaskara-varman  has 
been  published  in  the  Dacca  Jieview, 
June,  1913.  The  fact  that  the  king's 
orders  were  issued  from  his  liead- 


quartersat  Karna-suvarna  in  Bengal 
indicates  that  he  must  have  held 
part  of  Bengal  in  subordination  to 
Harsha. 


STATE   OF   CIVILIZATION  357 

compelled  the  mutually  repellent  molecules  of  the  hody 
politic  to  check  their  gyrations  and  submit  to  the  grasp  of 
a  superior  controlling  force. 

The  visitation  of  the  Hun  invasions  had  caused  such  India's 
suffering  that  the  wholesome  despotism  of  Harsha  was  condition 
recognized  as  a  necessary  i-emedy.  When  he  died,  the 
wounds  inflicted  by  the  fierce  foreign  savages  had  long  been 
healed,  while  the  freedom  of  the  country  from  external 
attack  relieved  men's  minds  from  feeling  the  necessity  for 
a  deliverer ;  and  so  India  instantly  reverted  to  her  normal 
condition  of  anarchical  autonomy. 

Excepting  the  purely  local  incursions  of  the  Arabs  in  Sind  Freedom 
and  Gujarat  during  the  eighth  century,  interior  India  was  foreign 
exempt    from    serious    foreign    aggression    for    nearly    five  aggression 

for  nvG 

hundred  years,  from  the  defeat  of  Mihiragula  in  a.d.  528  centuries, 
until  the  raids  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  at  the  beginning  of 
the  eleventh  century,  and  was  left  free  to  work  out  her 
destiny  in  her  own  fashion. 

In  political  institutions  no  evolution  took  place.  No  Polity, 
sovereign  arose  endowed  with  commanding  abilities  and  ^nd^^  ^'^^' 
capable  of  welding  together  the  jarring  members  of  the  body  religion, 
politic,  as  Chandragupta  Maurya,  Asoka,  and  in  a  lesser 
degree  the  Gupta  kings  and  Harsha  of  Kanauj  had 
done.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  position  of  universal 
lord  of  Northern  India  was  made  by  Mihira  Bhoja  of 
Kanauj  {c.  a.d.  840-90),  but  unluckily  we  know  next  to 
nothing  about  his  character  or  administration.  Even  the 
heavy  pressure  of  Muslim  invasion  failed  to  produce  effective 
cohesion  of  the  numberless  Hindu  States,  which,  one  by  one, 
fell  an  easy  prey  to  fierce  hordes  of  Arabs,  Turks,  and 
Afghans,  bound  together  by  stern  fanaticism.  Literature, 
although  actively  cultivated  and  liberally  patronized  at  many 
local  courts,  sank  far  below  the  level  attained  by  Kalidasa. 
In  mathematics,  astronomy,  or  any  other  branch  of  science, 
little  or  no  advance  was  made.  Religion  suffered  a  grave 
loss  by  the  gradual  extinction  of  Buddhism,  which,  in  virtue 
of  imperceptible  changes,  became  merged  in  various  Hindu 
sects.    Only  in  Magadha  and  the  neighbouring  countries  the 


358  THE   REIGN   OF   HARSHA 

religion  of  Gautama,  under  new  forms^  preserved  a  vigorous 
existence  for  four  centuries  (c.  a.d.  780-1193),  sustained 
by  the  support  of  Dharmapfila  and  his  successors  of  the 
Pal  a  dynasty. 

Fine  art.  The  art  of  sculpture,  devoted  in  most  places  to  the  service 
of  the  Hindu  gods,  and  in  the  Pala  dominions  to  that  of 
modified  Buddhism,  was  developed  in  diverse  styles  by  many 
schools  of  artists.  The  aesthetic  value  of  that  abundant 
mediaeval  sculpture  is  the  sidjject  of  keen  controversy, 
admirers  seeing  in  it  the  higliest  achievement  of  Hindu 
genius,  while  other  critics  are  repelled  by  its  lack  of  re- 
straint and  its  tendency  to  lapse  into  ugly  grotesqueness. 
The  paintings  of  mediaeval  times,  unfortunately,  have  dis- 
appeared utterly,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  judge  whether 
pictorial  skill  advanced  or  declined.  The  art  of  coinage 
certainly  decayed  so  decisively  that  not  even  one  mediaeval 
coin  deserves  notice  for  its  aesthetic  merits. 

Architec-        But  architecture  was   practised   on  a   magnificent  scale. 

ture.  Although  most  of    the  innumerable  buildings  erected  were 

destroyed  during  the  centuries  of  Muhammadan  rule,  even 
the  small  fraction  surviving  is  enough  to  prove  that  the 
Hindu  architects  were  able  to  plan  with  grandeur  and  to 
execute  with  a  lavishness  of  detail  which  compels  admira- 
tion while  inviting  hostile  criticism  by  its  excess  of  cloying 
ornament. 

Petty  The  three  following  chapters,  which  attempt  to  give  an 

outline  of  the  salient  features  in  the  bewildering  annals  of 
Indian  petty  states  when  left  to  their  o\^n  devices  for  several 
centui-ies,  may  perhaps  serve  to  give  the  reader  a  notion  of 
what  India  always  has  been  when  released  from  the  control 
of  a  supreme  authority,  and  wliat  she  would  be  again,  if  the 
hand  of  the  benevolent  despotism  which  now  holds  her  in  its 
iron  grasp  should  be  withdrawn. 


states. 


359 
CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY 


6O0 
c.   600 

605 

606 
606-12 

60S 

609 
Oct.  612 

615 

618 
619-20 
c.  620 

622 

637 
628-9 

629 

630 
630-1 
c.  635 

636 

641 


642 
643 


645 

646 
647 
647-8 

649 

657 
661-5 

664 

670 

671 
675-85 

691 

695 
c.  698 


Hiuen  Tsang,  Chinese  pilgrim,,  born. 

Persecution  of  Buddhism  by  Sa.srinka. 

Rajya-vardhana,  Raja  of  Thiinesar,  ace. 

Harsha-vardhana,  Raja  of  Thanesar,  ace. 

Conquest  of  Northern  India  by  Harsha. 

Pulakesin  II  Chahikya,  ace. 

Pulake!§in  II  Chalukya,  crowned. 

Harsha  crowned  ;  his  era  established,  as  from  606. 

Kubja  Vishnu-vardhana  (Vishamasiddhi),  viceroy  of  Vcngl. 

Kao-tsu,  first  T'ang  emperor  of  China,  ace. 

Ganjam  inscription  of  Sai^anka. 

Defeat  of  Harsha  by  Pulakesin  II  Chalukya. 

Muhammadan  era  of  the  Hijra  or  '  flight '. 

T'ai  Tsung,  emperor  of  China,  aec. 

Banskhera  inscription  of  Harsha. 

Hiuen  Tsang  began  his  travels. 

Accession  of  Srong-tsan-Gampo,  king  of  Tibet. 

Madhuban  inscription  of  Harsha. 

Conquest  of  Valabhi  by  Harsha. 

Nestorian  Christianity  introduced  into  China  by  Alopen. 

Harsha  sent  embassy  to  China ;  king  Srong-tsan-Gampo  of 
Tibet  married  Chinese  princess  Wen-cheng;i  Sassanian  king 
Yezdegird  defeated  by  the  Arabs  at  Nahavend ;  Arab  con- 
quest of  Egypt. 

Death  of  Pulakesin  II  Chalukya. 

Harsha's  expedition  to  Ganjam ;  his  meeting  with  Hiuen 
Tsang  ;  Chinese  mission  of  Li-I-piao  and  Wang-hiuen-t'se  ; 
Harsha's  assemblies  at  Kanauj  and  Prayaga ;  Hiuen  Tsang 
started  on  return  journey. 

Arrival  of  Hiuen  Tsang  in  China. 

Dispatch  of  second  mission  of  Wang-hiuen-t'se. 

Death  of  Harsha. 

Usurpation  of  (?)  Arjuna  and  his  defeat  by  Chinese,  Nepalese, 
and  Tibetans  ;  publication  of  Hiuen  Tsang's  Travels. 

Death  of  T'ai  Tsung,  emperor  of  China ;  Kao-tsung,  ace. 

Third  mission  of  Wang-hiuen-t'se. 

Greatest  extension  of  Chinese  dominions. 

Death  of  Hiuen  Tsang. 

Defeat  of  Chinese  by  Tibetans. 

I-tsing,  Chinese  pilgrim,  began  his  travels. 

I-tsing  resided  at  Nalanda. 

I-tsing  composed  his  Record. 

I-tsing  returned  to  China. 

Death  of  Srong-tsan-Gampo,  king  of  Tibet. 


Date  of  marriage  according  to  Waddell  and  Sarat  Chandra  Das, 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE   MEDIAEVAL   KINGDOMS  OF   THE   NORTH 
From  a.d.  647  to  1200 


Chinese 

influence 

on 

northern 

frontier 

of  India. 


A.D.  502- 
56. 

Ephthalite 
empire. 


A.D.  565. 
Empire  of 
Western 
Turks. 


Relations  vnth   China  and  Tibet 

The  tenacity  of  the  Cliincse  government  in  holding  on 
to  the  most  distant  possessions  of  the  empire  has  been 
exemplified  in  recent  times  by  the  recovery  of  Kashgaria 
and  Yunnan  from  Muhammadan  powers,  and  of  Kulja 
from  the  Russians.  The  history  of  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries  offers  many  illustrations  of  the  same  characteristic, 
and  exhibits  China  as  making  the  most  determined  efforts 
to  ^xercise  influence  in,  and  assert  suzerainty  over,  the 
countries  on  the  northern  frontier  of  India. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  sixth  century  the  power  of  China 
in  the  '  Western  countries '  had  vanished,  and  the  Ephtha- 
lites,  or  White  Huns,  ruled  a  vast  empire,  which  included 
Kashgaria — the  *  Four  Garrisons '  of  Chinese  writers — 
Kashmir,^  and  Gandhara,  the  region  near  Peshawar. 

About  the  year  565  (*  between  563  and  567 ')  the  Ephtha- 
lite dominion  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Western  Turks 
and  Persians ;  but  the  grasp  of  the  latter  power  on  the 
provinces  south  of  the  Oxus  soon  relaxed,  and  the  Turks 
became  the  heirs  of  the  Ephthalites  in  the  whole  of  their 
territory  as  far  as  the  Indus.  Accordingly,  in  a.d.  630, 
when  Hiuen  Tsang  was  on  his  way  to  India,  his  safety  was 
assured  by  passports  granted  by  Tong-she-hii,  the  '  Kazan ', 
or  supreme  chief  of  the  Western  Turks,  which  guaranteed 
him  protection  as  far  as  Kapisa.^ 


^  Ki-pin,  which  term  was  usually 
understood  to  mean  Kashmir  hy 
Chinese  writers  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury, in  the  time  of  the  Wei  dynasty 
(Chavannes,  Song  Yun,  p.  37). 


^  Ki-pin,  which  ordinarily  meant 
Kapisa,  tiie  country  to  the  north  of 
the  Kabul  river,  for  Chinese  writers 
of  the  seventh  century,  in  the  time 
of  the  Tang  dynasty. 


CHINA   AND   TIBET  361 

In  the  same  year  the  pilgrim's  powerful  protector  wasA.n.  630. 
assassinated,  and   tiie   Chinese,  under  the  guidance  of  the  defeat^of 
emperor  Tai-tsung,  the  second  prince  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  N'ortliem 
inflicted  upon  the  Northern  or  Eastern  Tinks  a  defeat  so  deci- 
sive that  the  vanquished  became  skives  to  the  Chinese  for 
fifty  years. 

When  relieved  from  fear  of  the  Northern  Turks,  the  Chinese  a.  n.  fi  jo- 

were  able  to  turn  their  arms  against  the  western  tribes,  and  in  ^', . 

^  '  Cninese 

the  years  640-8  succeeded  in  occupying  Turfan,  Kara-shahr,  conquest 
and  Kucha,  thus  securing  the  nortiiern  road  of  communica-  *^^^.  '  ''*' 
tion  between  the  East  and  West. 

At  this  time  Tibet  was  under  the  rule  of  the  famous  king.  Friendly 
Srong-tsan-Gampo  (ace.  a.d.  630),  who  founded  Lhasa  in  ^^^^j^"^"^ 
A.D.  639,  introduced  Buddhism  into  his  country,  and,  with  Tibet, 
the  help  of  Indian  scholars,  devised  the  Tibetan  alphabet. 
While  still  very  young  he  married  Bhrikuti,  a  daughter  of  the 
king  of  Nepal,  and  two  years  later,  in  a.d.  641,  he  succeeded 
with  much  difficulty  in  winning  by  his  victories  the  hand  of 
the  princess  Wen-cheng,  daughter  of  the  Chinese  emperor, 
T'ai-Tsung.  Both  these  ladies  being  zealous  Buddhists,  con- 
verted their  young  husband,  and  so  determined  the  whole 
course  of  Tibetan  history.  The  Church  has  not  been  slow  to 
recognize  the  merit  of  its  patrons.  The  king  has  been  deified 
as  an  incarnation  of  Buddha,  Avalokitesvara,  the  Saviour, 
while  his  Nepalese  consort  is  revered  as  the  '  Green  Tara ' 
and  the  Chinese  princess  as  the  *  White  Tara*.  The 
Chinese  marriage  secured  the  maintenance  of  friendly  rela- 
tions between  Tibet  and  China  during  the  life  of  Srong-tsan- 
Gampo,  which  ended  in  or  about  a.d.  698.  In  consequence, 
the  Chinese  envoys,  in  the  years  643-5,  when  on  their  way  to 
the  court  of  Harsha,  were  able  to  pass  througii  Tibet  and  its 
dependency  Nepal  as  allied  countries,  and  both  those  king- 
doms willingly  sent  troops  to  rescue  Wang-Hiuen-tse  from 
the  troubles  into  which  he  fell  after  Harsha's  death.^ 

^  Sarat  Chandra  Das (/.  ^.  (S.  jB.,  range  from   a.d.   600  to  617,  but 

vol.    I,   pt.    i    (1881),   pp.    217-23;  the  latter  date  seems  to  be  correct, 

Waddell,  The  Buddhism  of  Tibet,  or  and  is  accepted  by  M.  L.  de  Mil- 

Lamaism  (1895),  pp.   20-4.      The  lou6.       That    author    states    that 

dates  of  the  Tibetan  historians  for  Srong-tsan   Gampo    married    both 

the    birth    of   Srong-tsan    Gampo  the    Nepalese   and    Chinese    prin- 


362 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 


A.D.    fi59- 

61. 

China  in 
possession 
of  empire 
of  Western 
Turks. 


A.n.  670. 
Occupa- 
tion of 
Kilshgaria 
by  the 
Tibetans. 


A.i).  714, 

Final 

overthrow 

of  the 

Northern 

Turks. 


A.  n.  66.5- 

71.5. 

Routes 

between 

China  and 

the  west 

closed. 


The  work  of  sulxhiiniij  the  Turks,  begun  by  the  emperor 
T'ai-tsung,  was  continued  by  his  successor  Kao-tsung 
(649-83),  and,  by  tlie  year  659,  China  was  nominally  mistress 
of  the  entire  territory  of  the  Western  Turks,  which  was  then 
formally  annexed.  In  661-5  China  enjoyed  unparalleled 
prestige^  and  had  reached  a  height  of  glory  never  again  attained. 
Kapisa  (Ki-pin)  was  a  province  of  the  empire,  and  the  im- 
perial retinue  included  ambassadors  from  Udyana,  or  the 
Suwat  valley,  and  from  all  the  countries  extending  from 
Persia  to  Korea. 

But  this  magnificent  extension  of  the  empire  did  not  last 
long.  A  terrible  defeat  inflicted  by  the  Tibetans  in  670  de- 
prived China  of  Kashgaria,  or  the  ^  Four  Garrisons ',  which 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  victors  imtil  a.d.  692,  when  the 
province  was  recovered  by  the  Chinese. 

Between  682  and  691  the  Northern  Turks  had  regained 
a  good  deal  of  the  power  which  had  been  shattered  by  the 
defeat  of  630,  and  even  exercised  a  certain  amount  of  control 
over  the  western  tribes.  But  internal  dissension  was  at  all 
times  the  bane  of  the  Central  Asian  nations,  and  the  Chinese 
well  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  national  failing. 
They  intervened  in  the  tribal  quarrels,  with  the  support  of  the 
Uigurs  and  Karluks,  with  such  effect  that  in  744  the  Uigurs 
established  themselves  on  the  Orkhon  in  the  eastern  part 
of  tile  Turkish  territory  ;  while,  on  the  west,  the  Karluks 
gradually  occupied  the  country  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  and  took 
possession  of  Tokmak  and  Talas,  the  former  residences  of  the 
Turkish  chiefs,  to  the  west  of  Lake  Issyk-kul. 

Between  665  and  715  the  government  of  China  was  unable 
to  interfere  effectually  in  the  affairs  of  the  countries  between 
the  Jaxartes  (Syr  Darya)  and  the  Indus ;  the  southern  route 
to  the  west  through  Kashgaria  having  been  closed  by  the 
Tibetans,  and  the  roads  over  the  Hindu  Kush  blocked  by 


cesses  between  a.d.  628  and  631. 
Waddell  and  Sarat  Chandra  Das 
agree  on  the  date  641  (L.  de  Mil- 
lou«^,  BodnVoul  ou  Tibet,  Paris, 
]f)06,  pp.  13f),  164-6),  The  Chinese 
pretend    that    they    defeated    the 


Tibetans,  but  tiie  emperor  would 
never  have  given  the  princess  in 
marriage  to  a  defeated  enemy. 
Chinese  authors  habitually  repre- 
sent defeats  as  victories. 


CHINESE   ACTIVITY  363 

the  conquests  of  Kotaiba,  the  Arab  general,  who  was  busily 
engaged  in  spreading  the  religion  of  the  Prophet  throughout 
Central  Asia. 

The  accession  of  the  emperor  Hiuen-tsung,  in  713,  marks  a.d.  715- 
a  revival  of  Chinese  activity ;  and  determined  efforts  were  Revival  of 
made  by  means  of  both  diplomacy  and  arms  to  keep  open  the  Chinese 
Pamir  passes,  and  to  check  the  ambition  of  the  Arabs  and  on  borders 
Tibetans,  who  sometimes  combined.       In  719,  Samarkand  ^^  India, 
and   other  kingdoms  invoked  the  aid  of  China  against  the 
armies  of  Islam  ;  while  the  Arab  leaders  sought  to  obtain  the 
co-operation  of  the  minor  states  on  the  Indian  borderland. 
The  chiefs  of  Udyana  (Suwat),  Khottal  (west  of  Badakshan), 
and  Chitral,  having  refused  to  listen  to  Muslim  blandishments, 
were  rewarded  by  the  emperor  of  China  with  letters  patent 
conferring  on  each  the  title  of  king ;  and  a  similar  honour  was 
bestowed  upon  the  rulers  of  Yasin  (Little  Po-lu),  Zabulistan 
(Ghazni),  Kapisa,  and  Kashmir.    China  made  every  effort  to 
organize  these  frontier  kingdoms,  so  as  to  form  an  effective 
barrier  against  both  Arabs  and  Tibetans.    Chandrapida,  king 
of  Kashmir,  received  investiture  as  king  from  the  emperor 
in  720,  and  his  brother  Muktapida-Lalitaditya  was  similarly 
honoured  in  733. 

A  few  years  later — in  744  and  747 — Chinese  influence 
had  been  so  far  extended  that  the  emperor  granted  titles 
to  the  king  of  Tabaristan,  south  of  the  Caspian.  In  the 
latter  year  a  Chinese  army  crossed  the  Pamirs,  in  spite  of  all 
difficulties,  and  reduced  the  king  of  Yasin  to  subjection. 

But,  as  in  the  seventh  century,  so  in  the  eighth,  the  Chinese  a.d.  T-ii. 
dominion  over  the  western  countries  was  short-lived,  and  was  Chinese 
shattered    by    a    disastrous    defeat  inflicted   in   751   on   the  by  Arabs 
Chinese  general  Sien-chi  by  the  Arabs,  who  were  aided  by  Karluks. 
the  Karluk  tribes.     Indirectly  this  disaster  had  an  important 
consequence  for  European  civilization.     The  art  of  making 
paper,  up  to  that  time  a  monopoly  of  remote  China,   was 
introduced   into    Samarkand   by   Chinese  prisoners,   and   so 
became  known  to  Europe,  with  results  familiar  to  all.^ 

^  The  foregoing  account  of  the  on  the  northern  frontier  of  India 
relations  of  China  with  the  states      is  cliiefly  derived  from  the  learned 


364        THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE    NORTH 

Buddhism  During^  the  long  reign  of  Thi-(or  Khri-)srong-(le-stan 
in  Tibet.  ^^^  ^  743-789)^  the  development  of  Buddhism  in  Tibet  was 
encouraged  with  a  zeal  which  did  not  shrink  from  persecution 
of  the  adherents  of  the  rival  indigenous  Bon  (or  Pon)  religion. 
The  Indian  sages,  Santa-raksliita  and  Padma-sambhava,  were 
invited  to  court,  and  witli  their  aid  a  system  of  clerical 
government  was  instituted,  which  survives  to  this  day  as 
Lamaism.  The  work  of  Thi-srong-de-tsan  was  continued 
and  carried  further  by  King  Ralpachan  (a.d.  816-38),  but  his 
successor,  Langdarma,  hated  Buddhism,  and  did  his  best 
to  extirpate  it.  A  Lama  avenged  the  wrongs  of  his  co- 
religionists by  assassinating  the  king,  a.d.  842.  During  the 
eleventh  century  (a.d.  1013  and  1042),  Buddhist  missionaries 
from  Magadha  securely  re-established  Buddhism  as  the 
official  and  predominant  religion  of  Tibet.^ 
Contut  In  the  reign  of  Ralpachan  a  severe  struggle  with  China 

China  ^^^^  place,  which  was  terminated  by  a  peace  recorded  (822) 
in  bilingual  inscriptions  at  Lhasa.  In  subsequent  ages  Tibetan 
relations  with  the  Chinese  empire  varied  much  from  time  to 
time,  but  whatever  they  might  be,  they  did  not  concern  India. 
The  final  attainment  of  supremacy  by  China  over  Tibet  was 
deferred  until  1751.  Since  that  date  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment has  always  endeavoured  to  keep  Europeans  out  of  Tibet, 
and  has  generally  succeeded  in  doing  so.  Tibetan  affairs, 
consequently,  long  remained  completely  apart  from  Indian 
history.  Contact  between  the  politics  of  India  and  those 
of  China  had  ceased  in  the  eighth  century,^  owing  to  the 
growth  of  Tibetan  po^^•er  at  that  time.     It  was  not  renewed 

and   valuable  work   by  Professor  M.  de  Milloue  (pp.  165,  166)  gives 

Chavannes,  Documents  sur  hs  Toil-  74-0-86. 

kiue  ( Tnrcs)  Occidenfaux,  St.  Peters-  ^  Sarat  Chandra  Das  (/.  A.S.B., 

bourg,  1903.     For  the  geography,  vol.  1,  part  i  (1H81%  pp.   224-38; 

see  the  map  in  that  work,  or  Stan-  Waddeli,  The  Buddhism  of  Tibet,  or 

ford's  map  appended  to  vol.  ii  of  iamawm,  p.  24;  L^vi, /yfiiVdpai,  II, 

Watters,   On    Yuan  Cliwang.     Sir  177,  178.    The  dates  in  the  text  are 

M.  A.  Stein  also  treats  of  the  rela-  those  of  L^vi.     M.  de  Milloue  dif- 

tions   of  China  with  the   frontier  fers  widely,  assigning  the  reign  of 

countries    of    India    in   the   early  Langdarma  to  the  years  899-902 

chapters  of  Ancient  Khotan,  1907.  {op.  cit.,  pp.  170,  171). 

'  The  dates  in  the  text  are  those  *  '  Vers  760,  la  perte  du  pays  de 

given  by  Sarat  Chandra  Das  and  Ko-long  s<!pare  d^finitivement  les 

Waddeli  {Enn/cl.  Brit.,  llth  ed.).  Chinois  de  ITnde '  (L^vi,  L«  iV^;>a/, 

ii,  17j). 


NEPAL  3()5 

until  the  conquest  of  Upper  Burma  in  1885^  which  made  the 
Indian  and  Chinese  empires  conterminous.  In  these  latter 
days,  Tibet,  which  had  been  a  dependency  of  China  in  greater 
or  less  degree  for  several  centuries_,  lias  again  come  within  the 
purview  of  the  Indian  government,  and  its  affairs  are  now  the 
subject  of  Anglo-Chinese  diplomacy. 

II 

Nepal 

The  kingdom  of  Nepal,  as  at  present  constituted,  is  a  Extent  of 
considerable  self-governed  state  extending  from  Sikkim  on  '''^'^  * 
the  east  to  Kumaon  on  the  west,  for  a  distance  of  about  500 
miles  along  the  northern  frontier  of  Tirhut,  Oudh,  and  the 
Agra  Province.  Except  for  a  narrow  strip  of  lowlands 
known  as  the  Tarai,  the  whole  country  is  a  maze  of  moun- 
tains and  valleys.  Strictly  speaking,  the  name  Nepal 
should  be  restricted,  and  was  confined  in  ancient  times  to 
the  enclosed  valley,  about  20  miles  in  length  by  15  in 
breadth,  within  which  Kathmandu,  the  capital,  and  many 
other  towns  and  villages  are  situated.  The  policy  of  the 
existing  government  rigorously  excludes  Europeans  from 
almost  every  part  of  the  state  except  that  valley,  and  con- 
sequently very  little  is  known  about  the  rest. 

The  earliestdefinite  historical  information  concerningNepal,  In 
meaning  the   valley,  is  the    statement  in  Samudragupta's  junta's 
great  Allahabad  inscription  of  the  fourth  century  after  Christ,  *''"*-'. 
that,  like  Kamarupa  or  Assam,  it  was  an  autonomous  frontier 
state,  paying  tribute  and  yielding  obedience  to  the  paramount 
Gupta  power.      The  tribute  probably  was  little  more  than 
nominal  and  the  obedience  intermittent.      At  the  present 
day  the  Nepalese  Government,  although  practically  indepen- 
dent, sends  presents  or  tribute  to  the  emperor  of  China,  and 
recognizes  in  a  vague  way  the  suzerainty  of  that  potentate, 
while   receiving   a  British  Resident   and   subordinating   its 
foreign  policy  to  the  direction  of  the  Government  of  India. 

Local   tradition    affirms    that    long    before   the   time    of  In  Asoka's 
Samudragupta,  in  the  days  of  Asoka,  in  the  third  century  ""^* 


366 


THE   KINGDOMS    OF  THE   NORTH 


Local 
annals. 


Seventh 
century 
and  later. 


B.C.J  the  valley  was  under  his  control,  and  this  tradition  is 
confirmed  by  the  existence  at  the  town  of  Pfitan  of  monu- 
ments attributed  to  him  and  his  daughter,  and  by  inscriptions 
M'hich  prove  that  the  lowlands  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  were  an 
integral  part  of  his  empire.  The  distance  from  Pataliputra 
to  the  valley  of  Nepal  not  being  great,  it  is  probable  that  that 
territory  formed  part  of  the  home  provinces  and  was  adminis- 
tered directly  from  the  Maurya  capital. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  exactly  what  happened  between  the 
time  of  Asoka  and  that  of  Samudragupta.  The  local  annals, 
which  exist  in  abundance,  do  not  bear  strict  criticism,  and 
give  little  information  of  value.  The  ruling  dynasty  during 
the  sixth  and  the  early  part  of  the  seventh  century  was  a 
Lichchhavi  family,  but  its  exact  connexion  with  the  Lich- 
chhavis  of  Vaisali  is  not  ascertainable.  The  Nepalese  Lich- 
chhavis  are  described  by  Hiuen  Tsang  as  being  eminent 
scholars  and  believing  Buddhists,  ranking  as  Kshatriyas.^ 

During  the  seventh  century  Nepal  occupied  the  position  of 
a  buffer  state  between  Tibet  on  tlie  north,  then  a  great  power 
in  Asia,  and  the  empire  of  Harsha  of  Kanauj  on  the  south. 
King  Amsuvarman,  founder  of  the  Thakuri  dynasty,  who 
died  about  a.d.  642,  w^as  in  close  touch  with  Tibet  by  reason 
of  his  daughter's  marriage  to  Srong-tsan-Gampo,  the  mon- 
arch of  that  country,  who  was  strong  enough  to  compel  the 
emperor  of  Chhia  to  give  him  the  princess  Wen-cheng  as 
second  consort  in  641.^  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
Harsha,  the  powerful  southern  neighbour  of  Nepal,  interfered 
in  the  affairs  of  that  kingdom  to  some  extent,  and  introduced 
the  use  of  his  era;  although  M.  Sylvain  Levi  is  of  opinion 
that  the  presumably  superior  influence  of  Tibet  excludes  the 
possibility  of  Harsha's  interference.  Certain  it  is  that  after 
Harsha's  death  Tibetan  and  Nepalese  troops  acted  together 
in  support  of  Wang-hiuen-tse,  the  Chinese  envoy,  and  against 
the  usurper  of  Harsha's  tlu'one  [ante,  p.  353).  It  is  also  cer- 
tain that  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  Nepal  was 


1  Walters,  ii.  8i.    Probably  the 
pilgrim  did  not  visit  Nepal. 

'^  between  a.  u.  ()2S  and  031,  ac- 


cording to  M.  de  Milieu^  {op.  cit., 
p.  161): 


NEPALESE  BUDDHISM  367 

still  dependent  on  Tibet,  and  continued  in  that  position  for 
a  considerable  time.  The  introduction  of  a  new  Nepalesc  era 
datini^  from  October,  a.d.  879,  may  be  plausibly  explainetl 
by  the  hypothesis  that  tiie  fact  marks  the  liberation  of  Nepfil 
from  Tibetan  control,  but  there  is  no  credible  record  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  new  computation  came  into  use,  or  of 
the  supposed  separation  from  Tibet.  Cliinese  relations  with 
Nepal  and  India  had  come  to  an  end  soon  after  the  middle  of 
the  eighth  century.  In  recent  times  wars  between  China  and 
Nepal  have  resulted  in  a  complimentary  recognition  by  the 
smaller  state  of  the  suzerainty  of  the  greater. 

The  confused  and  bloodstained  story  of  the  various  petty  Gurkha 
dynasties  which  ruled  in  Nepal  up  to  a.d.  1768  possesses  no'^°"^"'^^  * 
general  interest.  In  that  year  the  Gurkhas  conquered  the 
countrj',  and  established  the  dynasty  which  now  rules  Nepal 
through  the  agency  of  powerful  ministers  who  have  taken 
over  all  the  substantial  functions  of  sovereignty,  reducing 
the  nominal  monarchs  to  a  position  of  absolute  insignificance. 

Buddhism,  in  its  early  pure  form,  was  introduced  into  the  Nepalese 
valley  by  Asoka,  whose  daughter  is  believed  to  have  erected 
sacred  edifices  near  the  capital,  which  are  still  pointed  out. 
Little  or  nothing  is  known  concerning  the  religious  history 
of  the  country  for  many  hundred  years  afterwards.  In  the 
seventh  century  the  prevailing  religion  appears  to  have  been 
a  much  modified  Tantric  variety  of  the  '  Great  Vehicle ' 
Buddhist  doctrine,  allied  so  closely  to  the  orthodox  Hindu 
cult  of  Siva  as  to  be  distinguishable  from  it  with  difficulty.  In 
the  course  of  ages  the  corruption  of  the  church  increased, 
and  Nepal  now  presents  the  strange  spectacle  of  so-called 
monasteries  swarming  with  the  families  of  married  '  monks ' 
engaged  in  all  sorts  of  secular  occupations.^  The  spontaneous 
progress  of  the  decay  of  Buddhism,  which  had  been  operating 
in  Nepal  for  centuries,  has  been  much  hastened  by  the  action 
of  the  Gurkha  Government,  to  which  Buddhist  rites  are 
obnoxious;  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  in  the 

^  Married  monks  are  allowed  by  and    Eastern  India  (N.  N.  Vasu, 

certain  Tibetan  sects  (de  Milloue,  Modern  Buddhism  and  its  Followers 

p.  176),  and  used  to  be  recognized  in  Orissa,  Calcutta,  1911,  pp.  4,  13, 

by  the  Vajrayana  sect  in  Bengal  17). 


368         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 

course  of  a  few  generations  Nepalese  Buddhism  will  be  almost 
extinct. 
Decay  of  The  total  disappearance  of  the  Buddhist  worship  from 
in^fndia'"  India,  the  land  of  its  birth,  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
discussion  and  some  misconception.  Until  lately  the 
assumption  connnonly  was  made  that  Buddhism  had  been 
extinguished  by  a  storm  of  Brahman  persecution.  That  is 
not  the  true  explanation.  Occasional  active  persecutions  by 
Hindu  kings,  like  Sasanka,  which  no  doubt  occurred,  though 
rarely,  formed  a  factor  of  minor  importance  in  the  movement 
\vhich  slowly  restored  India  to  the  Brahmanical  fold.  The 
furious  massacres  perpetrated  in  many  places  by  Musalman 
invaders  were  more  efficacious  than  orthodox  Hindu  persecu- 
tions, and  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  disappearance  of 
Buddhism  in  several  provinces.  But  the  main  cause  M'as  the 
gradual,  almost  insensible,  assimilation  of  Buddhism  to 
Hinduism,  which  attained  to  such  a  point  that  often  it  is 
nearly  impossible  to  draw  a  line  between  the  mythology  and 
images  of  the  Buddhists  and  those  of  the  Hindus.  This 
process  of  assimilation  is  going  on  now  before  our  eyes  in 
Nepal,  and  the  chief  interest  which  that  country  offers  to 
some  students  is  the  opportunity  presented  by  it  for  Avatching 
the  manner  in  which  the  octopus  of  Hinduism  is  slowly 
strangling  its  Buddhist  victim.^  The  automatic  compression 
of  the  dying  cult  by  its  elastic  riv^al  is  aided  by  the  action  of 
the  Government,  which  throws  its  influence  and  favour  on 
the  side  of  the  Hindus,  while  abstaining  from  violent  persecu- 
tion of  the  Buddhists.^ 

^  Similarly,  the  Sikh  religion  is  described  in  Ca/a/.  Co/ns /.  3/. ,  vol. 

kept  alive  with   difficulty   by  the  i,  pp.   280-93,  and  more  fully  by 

esprit  de  corps  of  the   Sikh  regi-  E.    H.    Walsh,    'The    Coinage    of 

ments.  Nepal'  {J.R.A.S.,  1908,  pp.  669- 

^  Most  books  concerning  Nepal  760  ,  with  seven  plates.  For  dis- 
are  superseded  to  a  large  extent  by  cussion  on  the  question  of  the  intro- 
M.  Sylvain  Levi's  comprehensive  duction  of  Harsha's  era,  see  BUhler 
treatise  entitled  Le  iVx'pa/,  t.  i  and  ii,  {Ind.  Ant.,  xix,  40)  and  L^vi  (op. 
1905  ;  t.  iii,  1908.  Wright's  Histoi-y  cit,  vol.  ii,  pp.  145,  152).  Oldfield's 
of  XepOl  (Cambridge,  1877)  gives  a  Sketches  from  Nipal  is  a  good  de- 
translation  of  one  recension  of  the  scriptive  work, 
traditional  annals.     The  coinage  is 


KAMARUPA  OR  ASSAM  ,WJ 

III 

Kdmarujpa  or  Assam 

The  ancient  kingdom  of  Kamarupa,  although  roughly  Extent  of 
equivalent  to  Assam,  generally  occupied  an  area  larger  than  ^  °"^' 
that  of  the  modern  province,  and  extended  westward  to  the 
Karatoya  river,^  thus  including  the  Kuch  Bihar  State  and  the 
Rangpur  District.  The  earliest  notice  of  the  kingdom  which 
is  of  any  use  for  the  purposes  of  the  historian  is  the  state- 
ment in  Samudragupta's  inscription  on  the  Allahabad  pillar, 
recorded  about  a.d.  360  or  370,  that  Kamarupa  was  then 
one  of  the  frontier  states  outside  the  limits  of  the  Gupta 
empire,  but  paying  tribute  and  owing  a  certain  amount  of 
obedience  to  the  paramount  powcr.^ 

The  next  glimpse  of  this  remote  region  is  afforded  by  the  Hiuen 
Chinese  pilgrim  Hiuen  Tsang.  When  he  was  staying  for  the  ^^"^' 
second  time  at  the  Nalanda  monastery,  early  in  a.d.  643, 
he  was  compelled,  much  against  his  will,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
king  of  Kamarupa,  who  insisted  on  making  the  acquaintance 
of  the  renowned  scholar,  and  would  not  take  a  refusal. 
After  a  short  stay  at  the  capital  of  Kamarupa,  Harsha 
Siladitya,  the  Kanauj  sovereign,  sent  a  message  commanding 
that  Hiuen  Tsang  should  be  sent  to  him.  The  king  replied 
that  Harsha  might  take  his  head  if  he  could,  but  should 
not  get  his  Chinese  visitor.  However,  when  Harsha  sent  a 
peremptory  order  to  the  effect  that  he  would  trouble  the 
king  to  send  back  his  head  by  the  messenger,  that  potentate, 
on  second  thoughts,  deemed  it  advisable  to  comply  with  the 
request  of  his  suzerain,  and  hastened  to  meet  Harsha, 
bringing  the  pilgrim  with  him. 

This  king  was  named  Bhaskaravarman,  and  was  also  known  Bhaskara- 
as  Kumara.     He  belonged  to  a  very  ancient  dynasty,  which  ^^"1^."'' 
claimed  to   have   existed  for    a  thousand  generations,   and 
almost   certainly   he   must   have   been    a   Hinduized  Kuch 
aborigine.     Hiuen  Tsang  describes  him  as  being  a  Brahman 
by  caste,  but  the  form  of  his  name  indicates  that  he  con- 

1  Mr.  Blochmann  spells  the  name      toya,  which  seems  to  be  correct, 
as  Karataya;    others  write  Kara-  ^  j,  r,a.S.,  1890,  p.  8T9. 

1626  B    b 


3T0         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

sidered  himself  to  be  a  Kshatriya  or  Rajput,  and  it  would 
seem  that  the   pilgrim   really   meant  that  Bhaskaravarman 
was  a  Brahmanical  Hindu  in  religion.     He  may  have  been 
a  *  Brahmakshatri ',  as  the  Sena  kings  were  in  later  times. 
Buddhism  was  scarcely  known  in  his  country,  which  did  not 
contain  a  single  monastery.^ 
The  Pala        Practically   nothing   more   is   on    record   concerning   the 
dynasty,     political   history  of   Kamarupa  for   several   centuries.     The 
kingdom  was  included  in  the  dominions  of  some  of  the  Pala 
kings  of  Bengal,  and  Kumarapala,  a  member  of  that  dynasty, 
in  the  twelfth  century  appointed  his  minister  Vaidyadeva  as 
ruler  of  the  province  with  royal  powers.^ 
The  Early  in  the    thirteenth   century,   about   a.d.   1228,  the 

Ahoms.      invasions  of  the  Shan  tribe  named  Ahom  began.     Gradually 
the  Ahom  chiefs  made  themselves  masters  of  the  country, 
and    established   a   dynasty  which   lasted   until   the   British 
occupation  in  1825.^     The  dynastic  history  of  Kamarupa, 
being  only  of  local  interest,  need  not  be  considered  further. 
Religion.        The  claims  which  the  province   can  fairly  make   on  the 
respectful  attention  of  the  outer  world  rest  on  other  grounds. 
It  is  a  gate  through  which  successive  hordes  of  immigrants 
from  the  great  hive  of  the  Mongolian  race  in  Western  China 
have  poured  into  the  plains  of  India,  and  many  of  the  resident 
tribes  still  are  almost  pure  Mongolians.    The  religion  of  such 
tribes  is  of  more  than  local  concern,  because  it  supplies  the 
clue  to  the  strange  Tantric  developments  of  both  Buddhism 
and  Hinduism  which  are  so  characteristic  of  mediaeval  and 
modern  Bengal.     The  temple  of  Kamakhya  near  Gauhati  is 
one  of  the  most  sacred  shrines  of  the  Sakta   Hindus,  the 
worshippers  of  the  female  forms  of  deity,  while  the  whole 
country  is  renowned  in  Hindu  legend  as  a  land  of  magic 
and  witchcraft.     The  old  tribal  beliefs  are  being  abandoned 
gradually  in  favour  of  extreme,  or   even  fanatical,  Hindu 
orthodoxy,  and  the  history  of  Assam  offers  many  examples 


1  Beal,  i,  215-17;  ii,  l!).5-8;  '  C« to/.  Corns/.  J/.,  vol.  i,  p.  394; 
Waiters,  i,  349;  ii,  195-7;  Life  of  J.  Allan,  'The  Coinage  of  Assam' 
Iliuen  Tsinng,  p.  172.  {Num.    Chron.,    1909,  pp.    300-31, 

2  Ep.  Ind.,  ii,  355.  with  three  plates). 


xMUIIAMMADAN  ATTACKS  371 

of  the  process  by  which  Brahman  priests  have  established 
their  influence  over  non-Aryan  chiefs  step  by  step,  and  drawn 
them  within  the  roomy  fold  of  Hinduism.  All  the  various 
methods  of  conversion  and  absorption  enumerated  by  Sir 
Alfred  Lyall  and  Sir  H.  Risley  have  been  adopted  from  time 
to  time.^ 

Another  good  claim  to  notice  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  Muham- 
Assam  is  one  of  the  few  Indian  provinces  the  inhabitants  of  ^tfdcs 
which  successfully  beat  back  the  flowing  tide  of  Muham- 
madan  conquest,  and  maintained  their  independence  in  spite 
of  repeated  attempts  to  subvert  it.  The  only  Musalman 
invasion  of  Kamarupa  which  comes  within  the  limits  of  the 
period  treated  in  this  volume  is  the  expedition  rashly  under- 
taken in  A.D.  1204<-5  (a.h.  601)  by  the  son  of  Bakhtiyar, 
Muhammad,  the  conqueror  of  Bengal  and  Bihar.  He 
advanced  northwards  along  the  bank  of  the  Karatoya  river, 
which  then  formed  the  western  frontier  of  Kamarupa,  and 
succeeded  in  penetrating  into  the  mountains  to  the  north  of 
Darjeeling,  but  being  unable  to  obtain  any  secure  foothold, 
was  obliged  to  retreat.  His  retirement  was  disastrous.  The 
people  of  Kamarupa  having  broken  down  the  great  stone 
bridge  of  many  arches,  which  was  the  only  means  by  which 
he  could  cross  the  river  in  safety,  nearly  all  his  men  were 
drowned.  The  leader  of  the  expedition  managed  to  swim 
across  with  about  a  hundred  horsemen,  and  then  fell  ill  from 
distress  at  his  failure.  Next  year,  a.d.  1205-6  (a.h.  602), 
he  was  assassinated.^  Subsequent  Muhammadan  incursions 
were  equally  unsuccessful,  and  the  kingdom  retained  its 
autonomy  until  1816,  when  the  Burmese  appeared  and  occu- 
pied the  country  until  1824.  They  were  expelled  by  British 
troops,  and  early  in  1826  Assam  became  a  province  of  the 
Indian  empire. 

^  Gait,  History  of  Assam,  Cal-  *  Raverty,      transl.      Tahakdt-i- 

cutta,  1906;  Sir  Alfred  Lyall,  iVasiri,  pp.  j60-73;  J.'A.S.B., 
Asiatic  Studies,  First  Series,  ch.  V ;  vol.  xlv,  pt.  i  (1876),  pp.  330-3; 
Risley,  Census  of  India,  1901,  Blochmann,  ibid.,  vol.  xliv,  pt.  i 
Report,  pt.  i,  pp.  519-21,  531.  (1875),    pp.    276-85.         I     accept 

Raverty's  chronology. 


B  b  2 


372 


THE   KINGDOMS    OF   THE   NORTH 


IV 


Kashmir ; 

early 

histor}-. 


A.D.  7-20. 

Chandra- 

plda ; 

A.D.  733- 

69. 

Mukta- 

pTda. 


Jayaplda ; 
close  of 
the  eighth 
century. 


Kashmir 

A  detailed  account  of  the  history  of  Kashmir  would  fill 
a  volume ;  in  this  place  a  brief  notice  of  some  of  the  leading 
passages  will  suffice.  The  valley  had  been  included  in  the 
Maurya  empire  in  the  time  of  Asoka,  and  again  in  the 
Kiishan  dominion  in  the  days  of  Kanishka  and  Huvishka. 
Harsha,  although  not  strong  enough  to  annex  Kashmir,  was 
yet  able  to  compel  the  king  to  surrender  a  cherished  relic, 
an  alleged  tooth  of  Buddha,  which  was  carried  off  to  Kanauj. 
The  authentic  chronicles  of  the  kingdom  begin  with  the 
Karkota  dynasty,  which  was  founded  by  Durlabhavardhana 
during  Harsha's  lifetime.  Hiuen  Tsang  spent  two  years  in 
Kashmir,  from  about  May  631  to  April  633,  and  Avas 
received  with  distinguished  honour  by  the  unnamed  reigning 
king,  presumably  Durlabhavardhana.  That  prince  and  his 
son  Durlabhaka  are  credited  with  long  reigns. 

The  latter  was  succeeded  by  his  three  sons  in  order ;  the 
eldest  of  whom,  Chandrapida,  received  investiture  as  king 
from  the  emperor  of  China  in  720 ;  by  whom  the  third 
son  Muktapida,  also  known  as  Lalitaditya,  was  similarly 
honoured  in  733.  This  prince,  who  is  said  to  have  reigned 
for  thirty-six  years,  extended  the  power  of  Kashmir  far 
beyond  its  normal  mountain  limits,  and  about  the  year  740 
inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  Yasovarman,  king  of  Kanauj.^ 
He  also  vanquished  the  Tibetans,  Bhutias,  and  the  Turks  on 
the  Indus.  His  memory  has  been  perpetuated  by  the  famous 
Martanda  temple  of  the  Sun,  built  by  him,  and  still  existing. 
The  acts  of  this  king,  and  all  that  he  did,  with  something 
more,  are  set  forth  at  large  in  Kalhana's  chronicle. 

Jajapida,  or  Vinayaditya,  the  grandson  of  Muktfipida,  is 
credited  with  even  more  adventures  than  those  ascribed  to 
his  grandfather.  Probably  it  is  true  that  he  defeated  and 
dethroned  the  king  of  Kanauj,  apparently  Vajrayudha.    But 


»  Between  736  and  747  f L^vi  and 
Chavannes,  '  Itineraire  d'Oukong,' 
in  J.  A.,  1895,  p.  353J.     See  V.  A. 


Smith,  '  The  History  of  the  City  of 
Kanauj  and  of  King  Ya!»ovarman  ' 
(J.  7^.  A.S.,  1908,  pp.  765-93;. 


■^^S'^ 


4|>IA'    '      ^'■.''•■■•?:..  ••■.•V 


JAYAPlDA  373 

the  romantic  tale  of  his  visit  incognito  to  the  capital  of 
Paundnivardhana  in  Bengal,  the  modern  Rajshahi  District, 
then  the  seat  of  government  of  a  king  named  Jayanta, 
nnknown  to  sober  history,  seems  to  be  purely  imaginary. 
The  legend  of  his  expedition  against  a  king  of  Nepal,  with 
the  strange  name  Aramudi,  of  his  capture  and  imprisonment 
in  a  stone  castle,  and  of  his  marvellous  escape,  equally  belongs 
to  the  domain  of  romance.  The  details  of  the  acts  of  cruelty 
and  oppression,  due  to  avarice,  which  disgraced  the  later  years 
of  his  reign  read  like  matters  of  fact,  and  unhappily  are  ([uite 
in  accordance  with  the  low  moral  standard  of  most  of  the 
rulers  of  Kashmir.  The  chronicler  closes  his  narrative  with 
the  following  quaint  comment : 

'  Such  was  for  thirty-one  years  the  reign  of  this  famous 
king,  who  could  not  restrain  his  will.  Princes  and  fishes, 
when  their  thirst  is  excited  by  riches  and  impure  water  respec- 
tively, leave  their  place  and  follow  evil  ways,  with  such  result 
that  they  are  brought  into  the  strong  net  of  death — the 
former  by  changes  which  fate  dictates,  and  the  latter  by 
troops  of  fishermen.' 

The  substantial  existence  of  Jayaplda  is  testified  by  the 
survival  of  multitudes  of  exceedingly  barbarous  coins  inscribed 
with  his  title  Vinayaditya.^ 

The  reign  of  Avantivarman,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  a.  d.  855- 
century,  was  notable  for  his  enlightened  patronage  of  litera-  Avanti- 
ture,  and  for  the  beneficent  schemes  of  drainage  and  irrigation  va»™a"- 
carried  out  by  Suyya,  his  minister  of  public  works. ^ 

The  next  king,  Sankaravarman,  distinguished  himself  in  a.d.  883- 
war ;  but  is  chiefly  remembered  as  the  author  of  an  ingenious  c^'^g^  „ 
system    of  fiscal  oppression,  and  the   plunderer   of   temple  varman. 
treasures.     The  details  of  his  exactions  are  worth   reading 
as  proving  the  capacity  for  unlimited  and  ruthless  extortion 
of  an  Oriental  despot  without  a  conscience." 

During  his  reign  the  last  of  the  TurkI  Shfihiya  kings,  the  End  of  the 
descendants  of  Kanishka,  was  overthrown  by  the  Brahman  dynasty. 

^  Stein,  <raws?.  Rdjatar.,  Bk.  iv;  ^  gtein,  transl.  Rdjatar.,  Bk.  v» 

Catal.  Coins  I.  M.,  Vol,  i,  pp.  266,       vv.  2-126. 

269.  s  Stein,  transl.  Rdjatar. ,  Bk,  v, 

vv.  128-227. 


374        THE   KINGDOMS  OF   THE   NORTH 

Lalliya.  The  Turki  Shahiya  kings  had  ruled  in  Kabul 
until  the  capture  of  that  city  by  the  Arab  general  Yakub-i- 
Lais  in  a.d.  870  (a.h.  256).^  After  that  date  the  capital 
was  shifted  to  Ohind,  on  the  Indus.  The  dynasty  founded  by 
Lalhya,  known  as  tliat  of  the  Hindu  Shfihiyas^  lasted  until 
A.I),  1021,  when  it  was  extirpated  by  the  Muhanunadans.'^ 
Famine  in  In  the  reign  of  the  child-king  Partha  and  his  father  Pangu, 
18. '  the  regent,  an  awful  famine  occurred  in  the  year  a.  d.  917-18, 

thus  described  by  the  Bralnnan  historian  of  a  Hindu  govern- 
ment : — 

*One  could  scarcely  see  the  water  in  the  Vitasta  (Jihlam), 
entirely  covered  as  the  river  A\'as  with  corpses  soaked  and 
swollen  by  the  water  in  which  they  had  long  been  lying. 
The  land  became  densely  covered  with  bones  in  all  directions, 
until  it  was  like  one  great  burial-ground,  causing  terror  to 
all  beings.  The  king's  ministers  and  the  Tantrins  (Praetorian 
guards)  became  wealthy,  as  they  amassed  riches  by  selling 
stores  of  rice  at  high  prices.  The  king  would  take  that 
person  as  minister  uho  raised  the  sums  due  on  the  Tantrins' 
bills,  by  selling  the  subjects  in  such  a  condition.  As  one 
miglit  look  from  his  hot  bath-room  upon  all  the  people 
outside  distressed  by  the  wind  and  rain  of  a  downpour  in  the 
forest,  thus  for  a  long  time  the  wretched  Pangu,  keeping  in 
his  palace,  praised  his  own  comfort  while  he  saw  the  people 
in  misery.'  " 

This  gruesome  picture  may  give  cause  for  reflection  to  some 
critics  of  modern  methods  of  famine  relief. 
Unmatta-  Partha  chastised  his  people  with  whips,  but  his  son 
A.n.  9;i7-9.  Unmattavanti,  ^  who  was  worse  than  wicked,'  chastised  them 
uith  scorpions.  '  With  difficulty ',  sighs  the  chronicler,  ' I 
get  my  song  to  proceed,  since  from  fear  of  touching  the  evil 
of  this  king's  story  it  keeps  back  like  a  frightened  mare.' 
Parricide  was  one  of  his  many  crimes.  The  details  of  his 
brutalities  are  too  disgusting  for  quotation.  Happily  his 
reign  Avas  short,  and  he  died  the  victim  of  a  painful  disease 
in  a.  d.  {)'3<d* 

'  l\a.\erty.  Notes  on  Afghanistan,  ^  Stein,  transl.  Jid/atur.,  Bk.  v, 

])p.  fi3,  G1-.  vv.  271-7. 

'^  Stein,  Zur  Geschlchte  der  Cahis  *  Stein,  tranxl.  liajatar.,  Bk.  v, 

von  Kabul  (Stuttgart,  1893).  vv.  414-48. 


TYRANTS  375 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  tenth   century,  power   was  a.  d.  950- 

in  the  hands  of  an  unscrupulous  queen,  natned  Didda,  tlie  ^ 

A  ^  ^     ^  '  Queen 

granddaughter  of  a  Shahiya   king,  who,  first  as   a   queen-  Didda. 
consort,   then   as   regent,  and   ultimately    as    sovereign    for 
twenty-three  years,  misgoverned  the  unhappy  state  for  lialf 
u  century. 

In    the    reign    of   her    nephew,   Sangrama,    the    kingdom  a.  d.  loos- 
suffered  an  attack  from  Mahmud  of  Giia/ni;  and,  although  Sangrama. 
its  troops  were  defeated  by  the  invader,  preserved  its  inde- 
pendence, which  was  protected  by  the  inaccessibility  of  the 
mountain  barriers. 

Durinj;  the  second  half  of  the  eleventh  century,  Kashmir,  a.  d.  1063- 

.      .  89. 

which  has  been  generally  unfortunate  in  its  rulers,  endured  Kalasa. 

unspeakable  miseries  at  the  hands  of  the  tyrants  Kalasa  and  ^-d.  io89- 

Harsha.     The   latter,   who    was   evidently   insane,   imitated  Harsha. 

Sankaravarman  in  the  practice  of  plundering  temples,  and 

rightly  came  to  a  miserable  end.     Few  countries  can  rival 

the  long  Kashmir  list  of  kings  and  queens  wiio  gloried  in 

shameless  lust,  fiendish  cruelty,  and  pitiless  misrule. 

A  local  Muhamniadan  dynasty  obtained  power  in  1339,  a. d.  1339. 

and  the  religion   of  Islam   gradually  spread   in  the  valley  niadan 

durine:  the  fourteenth  century ;    but  the  natural  defences  of  local 

.  .  .  .  dynasty, 

the  kingdom  effectually  guarded  it  against  the  ambition  of 

the  sovereigns  of  India,  until  Akbar  conquered  it  in  1587, 

and  incorporated  it  in  the  Moghal  empire.^ 


The  kingdoms  of  Kanavj  (Panchdla),  the  Panjdb,  Ajmer, 
Delhi,  and  Gwdlior;  Muhamniadan  conquest  of  Hin- 
dustan. 

Before  proceeding  to  discuss  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Kanauj 
Kanauj,  it  will  be  well  to  give  some  account  of  the  famous  '^'  ^' 
capital  city,  which  is  now  represented  by  a  petty  Muham- 
niadan country  town  (N.  lat.  27°  3',  E.  long.  79°  56')  in  the 
Farrukhabad  District  of  the  United  Provinces.     Kanauj  was 

^  Full  details  of  Kashmir  history      mentary  of  Stein's  translation  of  the 
will  be  found  in  the  text  and  com-      ECtjatarahyinl. 


376         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 

of  high  antiquity.  It  is  mentioned  in  several  passages  of  the 
MaJidbfulrala, mn\  alhuled  tobyPatanjali  in  the  second  century 
B.C.  as  a  well-known  place.  It  has  been  so  completely 
destroyed  tliat  nothing  beyond  rubbish  heaps  remains  to 
testify  to  the  former  existence  of  its  gorgeous  temples, 
monasteries,  and  palaces.  Commentators  usually  take  it  for 
granted  that  Kanauj  is  mentioned  twice,  under  the  variant 
names  of  Kanagora  and  Kanogiza,^  in  Ptolemy's  Geography, 
written  about  a.d.  140,  but  there  is  little  reason  to  warrant 
the  belief.  The  first  certain  mention  of  the  city  M-ith  any 
descriptive  details  is  in  the  Travels  of  the  Chinese  pilgrim 
Fa-hicn,  mIio  visited  Kanauj  about  a. d.  405,  during  the  reign 
of  Chandra-gupta  II,  A^ikrama,dit\a.  His  remark  that  the  city 
possessed  only  two  Buddhist  monasteries  of  the  Hinayana 
school  and  one  stupa  suggests  that  it  was  not  of  much  impor- 
tance at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.-  Probably  it  grew 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Gupta  kings,  but  the  great  develop- 
ment of  the  city  clearly  was  due  to  its  selection  by  Harsha  for 
his  capital.  When  Hiuen  Tsang  stayed  there,  in  636  and 
643,  a  marked  change  had  occurred  since  Fa-hien's  time. 
Tlie  later  pilgrim,  instead  of  two  monasteries,  found  upwards 
of  a  hundred  such  institutions,  crowded  by  more  than  10,000 
brethren  of  both  the  great  schools.  Hinduism  flourished  as 
well  as  Buddhism,  and  could  show  more  than  two  hundred 
tem])les,  with  thousands  of  worshippers.  The  city,  which 
was  strongly  fortified,  then  extended  along  the  east  bank  of 
the  Ganges  for  about  4  miles,  and  was  adorned  \^'ith  lovely 
gardens  and  clear  tanks.  The  inhabitants  were  well-to-do, 
including  some  famiUes  of  great  wealth  ;  they  dressed  in  silk, 
and  were  skilled  in  learning  and  the  arts.^ 
Captured  Althougli  Kanauj  had  been  captured  several  times  by 
destroyed  '^"^^^^^^  armies  during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  it 
recovered  quickly  from  its  wounds,  and  when  Mahmud 
appeared  before  its  walls,  at  the  end  of  a.d.  1018,  was  still 
a  great  and  stately  city,  defended  by  seven  distinct  forts  or 

'  Bk.  vii,  ch.   1,  sec.  52;   di.  2,  ^  Travels,  ch.  xviii. 

sec.    22 ;    transl.    McCrindle,   Jnd.  '■'  Walters,  i,  310 ;  Deal,  i,  206. 

J  tit.,  xiii,  35-2,  38U. 


KANAUJ  377 

fortifications  and  reputed  to  contain  10,000  temples.  The 
Sultan  destroyed  the  temples,  but  seems  to  have  spared  the 
cit3\  The  removal  of  the  capital  of  Panchala  t(j  Rarl  must 
have  greatly  reduced  the  population  and  importance  of 
Kanauj,  although  it  revived  to  some  extent  under  the  rule  of 
the  Gaharwar  Kajas  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  subjugation 
of  Raja  Jaichand's  territory,  including  the  city,  in  a.  u.  1194 
(a.h.  590),  by  Shihab-ud-din,  reduced  it  to  insignificance  for 
ever.  Its  final  destruction  was  the  work  of  Sher  Shah,  who 
built  a  new  town  close  by,  called  Sher  Sur,  to  commemorate 
his  victory  over  Humayun  in  1540.  The  Muhammadan 
historian  who  chronicles  the  event  observes  that  he  could  not 
find  any  satisfactory  reason  for  the  destruction  of  the  old  city, 
and  that  the  act  was  very  unpopular.^ 

Kanauj,  although  it  twice  attained  the  dignity  of  being  the  Kingdom 
capital  of  Northern  India,  for  the  first  time  under  Ilarsha  in  Panchala. 
the  seventh  century,  and  for  the  second  time  under  Mihira 
Bhoja  and  Mahendrapala  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries, 
was  primarily  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Panchala. 
According  to  the  story  told  in  the  Mahdbhdrata,  Northern 
Panchala,  with  its  capital  Ahichchhatra,  fell  to  the  share  of 
Drona,  while  Southern  Panchala,  with  its  capital  Kampilya, 
became  the  kingdom  of  Drupada.  Ahichchhatra,  the  modern 
Ramnagar  in  the  Bareli  (Bareilly)  District,  was  still  a  con- 
siderable town  when  visited  by  Hiuen  Tsang  in  the  seventh 
century.  Little  is  known  about  the  history  of  Kampilya, 
appai-ently  the  modern  Kampil  in  the  Farrukhabad  District.'^ 
Both  the  ancient  capitals  were  thrown  into  obscurity  by  the 
rapid  development  of  Kanauj  under  Harsha's  rule,  and  after 
Ids  time  that  city  was  the  undisputed  capital  of  Panchala. 

Harsha's  death,  in  a.d.  647,  was  followed  by  a  period  of  Anarchy 

....  after 

disturbance    and    anarchy   throughout   his  wide   dominions.  Harsha's 

We  do  not  know  what  happened  to  the  kingdom  of  Panchala  t^^^^h. 

immediately  after   the   suppression    of   the   usurper,    about 

1  Elliot,  Hist,  of  India,  iv,  419.  {J.R.A.S.,  1908,  pp.  765-93).     I 

The  author.  Abbas,  wrote  in  the  was  mistaken  in  asserting  that  the 

reign  of  Akbar,  about  l.>80.     For  city  was  sacked  by  Shihab-ud-din. 

other  particulars,  see  V.  A.  Smith,  '^  Cunninghdin,  A rc/uteul.  S.  Hep., 

'  A  History  of  the  City  of  Kanauj  '  xi,  1 1. 


378         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

A.  D.  650,  by  the  Chinese  ambassador  with  the  help  of  his 
Nepalese  and  Tibetan  allies,  as  related  in  the  thirteenth  chapter. 
Rajas  of  After  Harsha's  death  the  earliest  known  king  of  Kanauj 
the  eightli  was  Yasovarnian,  who  sent  an  embassy  to  China  in  a.d.  731,^ 
century,  j^jjj  jijjjg  qj.  ^en  years  later  was  dethroned  by  Lalitaditya 
Muktaplda  of  Kashmir.^  In  the  history  of  Sanskrit  litera- 
ture Yasovarman's  name  holds  an  honoured  place  as  that 
of  the  patron  of  Bhavabhuti,  the  famous  author  of  the 
Mdlatlinddhava,  and  of  Vakpatiraja,  a  less  renowned  author, 
who  wrote  in  Prakrit.  The  next  occupant  of  the  throne  of 
Kanauj  apparently  was  Vajrayudha,  who,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, suffered  the  fate  of  defeat  and  dethronement  by  a  king 
of  Kashmir,  Jayapida.^  Similar  ill-luck  attended  his  suc- 
cessor, Indrayudha,  who  is  known  to  have  been  reigning  in 
A.D.  783,  and  was  dethroned,  about  a.d.  800,  by  Dharmapala, 
king  of  Bengal  and  Bihar.  The  eastern  monarch,  while 
probably  insisting  on  a  right  to  homage  and  tribute,  did  not 
keep  the  administration  of  Panchala  in  his  own  hands,  but 
entrusted  it  to  Chakrayudha,  presumably  a  relative  of  the 
defeated  raja.  The  new  ruler  was  consecrated  with  the 
consent  of  the  kings  of  all  the  neighbouring  states.*  His 
fortune  was  no  better  than  that  of  his  predecessors.  About 
A.D.  816  he  was  deprived  of  his  throne  by  Nagabhata,  the 
ambitious  king  of  the  Gurjara-Pratihara  kingdom  in  Rfijpu- 
tfina,  the  capital  of  which  was  at  Bhilmal.^ 
Klf^t'^      ,       Nagabhata  presumably  transferred  the  head-quarters  of  his 

^  Stein,  transl.  Rajatar.,  Bk.  iv,  *  a.d.    783,   Jain   Jfarivamsa  in 

V.    134,    note,    with    reference    to  Bomb.  Gaz.  (lHf)()),  vol.  i,  pt.  i,  p. 

Pauthier.  197  note;    Bhagalpur  copperplate 

2  Stein,  transl.  7?(//a^«/-.,  Bb.  iv,  {Ind.    Aid.,    xv,    304;    xx,    188); 

vv.   133-46;    L^vi  and  Chavannes,  Khalimpur  copperplate  {Ep.  Ind., 

'Itin.     d'Oukong'     {J.  A.,     1895,  iv,  252,  note  3). 

p.  353),       They    fix    the    date    as  ''  Gwalior  inscription,  Nachr.  d.  k. 

lying  between  a.d.  736  and  747.  Gesellsch.  d.  Wi^s.  Gottingen,  1905, 

*  Konowand  Lanman,  J^«/7>i«»'a-  *  Epigr.  Notes,'  No.  17;  Archaml. 

manjarl,  iii,   5^,   p.    266;    'to   the  S.,  Annual  Hip.,   1903-4,  p.   277. 

capital  of  Vajrayudha,  the  king  of  A.  M.  T.  Jackson,  '  Bhinmal,' .Bom. 

Panchala,  to  Kanauj.'  Stein,  transl.  Gaz.  (1896  ,  vol.  i,  pt.  i,  App.    See 

Rajatar.,  Bk.  iv,  471,  records  the  Watters,  0?t  Yuan  Chwa)i</,  i'l,  250 ; 

defeat   and   dethronement  of   the  D.   It.    Bhandharkar,  A.  S.W.  I., 

king  of  Kanauj  by  Jayapl(.la.     The  Proa.  Rep.,  1907-8,  pp.  36-41  ;  and 

king   of  Kanauj    apparently  must  J.  Wilson,  V^d/an  C'aa^e  (1877),  vol. 

have  been  Vajrayudha.  i,  p.  109. 


MIHIRA  BHOJA  379 

government  to  Kunauj,  ^v'hich  certainly  was  the  capital  of  his  Rama- 
successors  for  many  generations,  and  so  again  became  for  a  *  ^^ 
considerable  time  the  premier  city  of  Northern  India.  During 
the  reign  of  Nagabhata  the  chronic  warfare  between  tiie 
Gurjaras,  descendants  of  foreign  invaders,  and  the  Rashtra- 
kutas  (Rathors)  of  the  Deccan,  representing  the  indigenous 
ruling  races,  continued,  and  the  southern  king,  Govinda  III, 
claims  to  have  won  a  victory  over  his  northern  rival  early  in 
the  ninth  century.*  Nothing  particular  is  recorded  about 
Nagabhata's  successor,  Ramabhadra  (Ramadeva),  who  reigned 
from  about  a.d.  825  to  840. 

The  next  king,  Ramabhadra's  son  Mihira,  usually  known  Mihira 
by  his  title  Bhoja,  enjoyed  a  long  reign  of  about  half  a  cen-  ^°J^* 
tury  (c.  840-90),  and  beyond  question  was  a  very  powerful 
monarch,  whose  dominions  may  be  called  an  '  empire '  without 
exaggeration.  They  certainly  included  the  Cis-Sutlaj  districts 
of  the  Pan  jab,  most  of  Rajputana,  the  greater  part,  if  not  tiie 
whole,  of  the  present  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh,  and 
the  G\\alior  territory.  The  next  two  kings  being  known  to 
have  held  the  remote  province  of  Surashti'a,  or  Kathiawar,  in 
the  extreme  west,  the  possession  of  which  implies  control  over 
Gujarat  and  Malava  or  Avanti,  it  is  highly  probable  that  these 
distant  regions  also  were  subject  to  the  sway  of  Bhoja.  On 
the  east  his  dominions  abutted  on  the  realm  of  Devapala, 
king  of  Bengal  and  Bihar,  which  he  invaded  successfully ;  on 
the  north-west  his  boundary  probably  Mas  the  Sutlaj  river ; 
on  the  west  the  lost  Hakra  or  Wahindah  river  separated  his 
territories  from  those  of  his  enemies,  the  Muhammadan  chiefs 
of  Sind ;  on  the  south-west  his  powerful  Rashtrakuta  rival, 
the  ally  of  the  Muhammadans,  kept  his  armies  continually 
on  the  alert ;  while  on  the  south  his  next  neighbour  was  the 
growing  Chandel  kingdom  of  Jejakabhukti,  the  modern 
Bundelkhand,  which  probably  acknowledged  his  su/erainty." 
Bhoja  liked  to  pose  as  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  and  therefore 

^  Unpublished  inscription  in  pos-  710  of  Kielhorn's   List  {Ep.  Ind., 

session  of  Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar  vol.  v,  App.),  and  others.     For  the 

('  Gurjaras,'  p.  4,  in  /.  Bo.  Br.  As.  relations  of  the  native  powers  with 

Soc,  vol.  xx).  the  Muhammadans  see  Al  Masudi 

2  These  facts  are  collected  from  a  in  Elliot,  i,  23-5  ;  Bom.  Gaz.  (1896), 

series  of  inscriptions,  Nos.  542,  544,  vol.  i,  pt.  i,  pp.  506,  511,  526. 


380         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 

assumed  the  title  of  Adi  Vardha,  '  the  prinuieval  boar,'  one 
of  the  incarnations  of  the  god.  Base  silver  coins  inscribed 
with  this  title  are  exceedingly  common  in  Northern  India, 
and  by  their  abundance  attest  the  long  duration  and  wide 
extension  of  Bhoja's  rule.^  Unfortunately  no  Megasthenes 
or  Bana  has  left  a  record  of  the  nature  of  his  internal  govern- 
ment, and  it  is  impossible  to  compare  the  polity  of  Bhoja 
with  that  of  his  great  forerunners. 
Mahen-  Bhoja's  SOU  and  successor,  Mahendrapala  (Mahendrayudha) 

preserved  unimpaired  the  extensive  heritage  received  from 
his  father,  and  ruled  all  Northern  India,  except  the  Panjab 
and  Indus  valley,  from  the  borders  of  Bihar  (Magadha)  to 
the  sliore  of  the  Arabian  sea.  Inscriptions  of  his  eighth  and 
nintii  years  found  at  Gaya  seem  to  prove  that  Magadha  was 
included  in  the  Parihar  (Pratihara)  dominions  for  some  time. 
His  teacher  {Guru)  was  the  celebrated  poet  Rajasekhara, 
author  of  the  Karpura-mmijarn  play  and  other  works,  who 
continued  to  reside  at  the  court  of  Mahendrapala's  younger 
son.^ 
Bhoja  II  The  throne  was  occupied  for  two  or  three  years  by 
Mahipala  ^^^j'*'  ^^i  elder  son  of  Mahendrapala,  who  died  early,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  half-brother,, Mahipala  (c.  a.d.  910-40).^ 
The  beginning  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  empire  of  Kanauj 
dates  from  his  reign.  In  a.  d.  916  the  armies  of  the  Rashtrakuta 
king,  Indra  III,  once  nu)re  captured  Kaiuiuj,  and  gave  a  severe 
blow  to  the  power  of  the  Pratihara  dynasty.*  Surashtra, 
wliich  was  still  subject  to  Mahipala  in  914,'^  probably  was 
then  lost  along  with  other  remote  provinces,  in  consequence 
of  the  successes  gained  by  the  southern  monarch.  Indra  III 
not  being  in  a  position  to  hold  Kanauj,  Mahipala  recovered 
his  capital  with  the  aid  of  the  Chandel  king,  and  probably 
other  allies.^ 

'  Catal.  Coins  I.  M.,  vol.  i,  pp.  been  proved  to  be  erroneous. 

233,  241.  *  Inscription    No.   oirl    of   Kiel- 

'^  Konow  and  Lanman,  Karpura-  horn's  List, 

manjarl,  Y>.  178.     But  tlie  remark  *  Canibay  plates  {Ep.  Ind.,  vii, 

(op.'  (it.  p.  179)  that  Mahendrapala  30,  43). 

of  Mahodaya  must  be  distinguished  '•  Inscription  No.  353  in  Kielhorn's 

from  tiie  king  of  that  name  in  the  Lhit. 

Dighwa-Dubauli  copperplate  has  "  Ep.  Ind.,  i,  121. 


LATER  KINGS  381 

The  waning  power  of  Kanuuj  and  the  wuxiiiijf  strength  of  Dcvapala. 
Jcjakablmkti  are  shown  by  the  incident  that  the  next  king 
of  Kanauj,  Devapala  [c.  940-55),  was  ol)liged  to  surrender 
a  much-prized  image  of  Vislnui  to  the  Chandel  king,  Yaso- 
varman,  who  enshrined  it  in  one  of  the  finest  temples  at 
Khajuraho.^  Yasovarman  had  established  his  power  l)y  the 
occupation  of  tlie  strong  fortress  of  Kfihinjar,  and  no  doubt 
became  absolutely  independent  of  Kanauj.  In  the  reign  of 
Dhanga,  the  successor  of  Yasovarman,  the  Jumna  is  known 
to  have  formed  the  boundary  between  the  territories  of 
Panchala  and  those  of  Jejakabiiukti. 

Devapjila  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  Vijayapala  Vijaya- 
{c.  A.  D.  955-90),  whose  reign  is  marked  by  the  loss  of  '^''  '^' 
Gwalior,  the  ancient  possession  of  his  house,  which  was 
captured  by  a  Kaclichhwaha  (Kachchhapaghata)  chief  named 
Vajradaman,2  the  founder  of  a  local  dynasty  which  held  the 
fortress  until  a.d.  \\9S.  The  estal)lishment  of  the  Solanki 
(Chaulukya)  kingdom  of  Anhilwara  in  Gujarat  by  Miilaraja, 
about  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  shows  that  the  king 
of  Kanauj  no  longer  liad  any  concern  with  Western  India. ^ 
The  Gwalior  chieftain  became  a  feudatory  of  the  Chandel 
monarchy,  which,  under  Dhanga  {c.  1000-1050),  evidently 
was  stronger  than  its  rival  of  Kanauj. 

Ac  this  period  the  politics  of  the  Hindu  Rajput  states  of  Muham- 
Northern    India   became    complicated    by    the    intrusion    of  invasions. 
Muhammadan  invaders.      The   Arab   conquest  of  Sind,   in 
A.D.  712,  did  not  seriously  affect  the  kingdoms  of  the  interior. 
The  Arabs  maintained  friendly  relations  on  the  whole  with 
their  powerful  Rashtrakuta  neighbours  on  the  south,  and  their 

^  Ep.  Ind.,  i,  134'.  presumably  was  his  viceroy,  and 

2  Inscription  No.  47  of  Kielhorn's  finding  an  opportunity,  threw  off 
List.  his  allegiance.     See  Ep.  Ind.,  x, 

3  Three  inscriptions  of  Mularaja,  76,  77,  and  J.R.A.S.,  lOOf),  pp. 
ranging  in  date  from  Aug.  a.  d.  97 1  269-72.  The  date,  a.  n.  961,  which 
to  Jan.  995,  are  known.  According  1  formerly  assigned  for  the  estab- 
to  the  Gujarat  chronicles  his  reign  lishmentofthe  Anhilwara  kingdom, 
extended  from  a.  d.  942  to  997.  He  does  not  seem  to  be  right.  Mula- 
is  described  as  the  son  of  Raji,  king  raja  was  killed  by  a  Chauhan  Raja, 
of  Kanauj.  Raji  is  probably  one  named  Vigraharaja  (II),  who  was 
of  the  many  designations  of  king  alive  in  a.d.  973  (.1.  R.  A.  8.,  1913, 
MahTpala,  who  reigned  from  about  pp.  266,  267,  269). 

A.D.  910  to  about  940.     Mularaja 


382         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 

attacks  on  the  dominions  of  the  Gurjara  kings  of  Rajputana 
and  Kanaiij  do  not  seem  ever  to  have  exceeded  the  proportions 
of  frontier  raids.  But  now  the  armies  of  Islam  began  to 
appear  in  more  formidable  fashion  through  the  north-western 
passes,  the  gates  which  had  so  often  admitted  the  enemies  of 
India. 
Sabukti-  In  those  days  a  large  kingdom  comprising  the  upper  valley 
Jaipal.  of  the  Indus  and  most  of  the  Panjab  to  the  north  of  Sindh, 
extending  westward  to  the  mountains  and  eastward  to  the 
Hakra  river,  was  governed  by  a  Raja  named  Jaipal,  whose 
capital  was  at  Bathindah  (Bhatinda),  a  town  situated  to  the 
SSE.  of  Lahore  and  westward  from  Patiala.  Sabuktigin, 
the  Amir  of  Ghazni,  made  his  first  raid  into  Indian  territory 
in  A. D.  986-7  (a.h.  376).  Two  years  later  Jaipal  retaliated 
by  an  invasion  of  the  Amir's  territory,  but,  being  defeated, 
was  compelled  to  accept  a  treaty  binding  him  to  pay  a  large 
sum  in  cash,  and  to  surrender  a  number  of  elephants  and 
four  fortresses  to  the  west  of  the  Indus.  Jaipal  having 
broken  the  compact,  Sabuktigin  punished  him  by  the  devas- 
tation of  the  frontier  and  the  annexation  of  Lamghan  (Jalal- 
abad). Soon  afterwards  (c.  a.d.  991)  Jaipal  made  a  final 
effort  to  save  his  country  by  organizing  a  great  confederacy 
of  Hindu  princes,  including  Ganda,  the  Ciiandel  king, 
Rajyapala,  then  the  king  of  Kanauj,  and  others.  The  vast 
host  thus  collected  was  disastrously  defeated  in  or  near  the 
Kurram  (Kurmah)  valley,  and  Peshawar  was  occupied  by 
the  Muhammadans.  Jaipal,  who  was  again  defeated  in 
November,  1001,  by  Sultan  Mahmud,  committed  suicide, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Anandpal.^ 
Rajya-  At  Kanauj,  Vijayapala  had  been  succeeded  by  his  son 

Sultan        Rajyapala,    who    took    his    share    in    opposing    the    foreign 
Malimud.   invader.     A    few    years    later    (a.d.    997)    the    crown    of 
Sabuktigin  descended,  after  a  short  interval  of  dispute,  to 

1  This  summary  statement,  so  son,  '  Shah  Anandapala,  who  ruled 
far  as  it  differs  from  current  ac-  in  our  time,' had  as  teacher  a  gram- 
counts,  rests  upon  the  authority  of  marian  named  Ugrabhuti,  whose 
Ilaverty,  Notes  on  Afyhani.stan,  hook  was  made  fashionable  in 
p.  320.  Alberunl  {India,  transl.  Kashmir  by  liberal  donations  from 
Sachau,  i,  135)  tells  us  that  Jaipal's  the  royal  pupil  to  the  pundits. 


SULTAN  MAHMUD  833 

his  son,  the  famous  Sultan  Mahmiul,  Mho  made  it  the 
business  of  his  life  to  harry  the  idolaters  of  India,  and  carry 
off  their  property  to  Ghazni.  He  is  computed  to  have  made 
no  less  than  seventeen  expeditions  into  India.  It  was  his 
custom  to  leave  his  capital  in  October,  and  then  three 
months^  steady  marching  brought  him  into  tlie  richest 
provinces  of  the  interior.  Early  in  January,  a.d.  1019, 
he  appeared  before  Kanauj.  Rajyapala  made  no  serious 
attempt  to  defend  his  capital,  and  the  seven  forts  which 
guarded  it  all  fell  into  Mahmud's  hands  in  a  single  day. 
The  conqueror  destroyed  the  temples  but  spared  the  city, 
and  quickly  returned  to  Ghazni  laden  with  booty.  Rajya- 
pala made  the  best  terms  that  he  could  obtain,  abandoned 
Kanauj,  and  retired  to  Barl  on  the  other  side  of  the  Ganges.^ 

The  pusillanimous  submission  of  Rajyapala  incensed  his  Gandaand 
Hindu  allies,  who  felt  that  he  had  betrayed  their  cause.  His  Mahmf.d. 
fault  was  sternly  punished  by  an  army  under  the  command 
of  Vidhyadhara,  heir-apparent  of  the  Chandel  king,  Gaiida, 
supported  by  the  forces  of  his  feudatory,  the  chief  of  G\vrilior, 
which  attacked  Kanauj  in  the  spring  or  summer  of  a.  d.  1019, 
soon  after  the  departure  of  Sultan  Malimud,  and  slew 
Rajyapala,  whose  diminished  domijiions  passed  under  the 
rule  of  his  son  Trilochanapala.  Tlie  Sultan  was  furious  when 
he  heard  of  the  punishment  inflicted  on  a  prince  whom  he 
regarded  as  a  vassal,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year 
(a.h.  410)  started  again  from  Ghazni  to  take  vengeance  on 
the  Hindu  chiefs.  Early  in  a.d.  1020  he  captured  Bari,  the 
new  Pratihara  capital,  without  much  difficulty,  and  then 
advanced   into   the   Chandel   territory,   where    Ganda    had 

^  The  name  Rajyapala  is  obtained  gible.  The  inscriptions  were  not 
from  the  JhusI  copperplate  {Ind.  known  when  he  wrote,  and  all 
^n^.,  xviii,  34,  Kielhorn's  i/«s/.  No.  subsequent  writers  have  per- 
60)  and  the  Dilbkund  inscription  petuated  his  error.  The  version 
(Ep.  hid.,  ii,  235).  Hitherto  it  has  of  the  Tahakat-i-Akhar't  is  given  by- 
been  misread  as  '  Rai  Jaipal'  in  Al  Elliot  (ibid.,  460).  The  retirement 
Utbi  (Elliot,  ii,  45),  with  the  result  to  Barl  is  recorded  by  Alberuni  and 
that  much  confusion  has  occurred.  Rashld-ud-dln.  The  subject  is  dis- 
Elliot  (ibid.,  pp.  425-7,  461)  mixes  cussed  more  fully  in  ray  second 
up  the  dynasty  of  Bathindah  with  paper  on  '  The  Gurjaras  of  Raj- 
thatof  theShahiyasof  Ohind,  com-  putana  and  Kanauj'  {J.  R.  A.  S., 
monly  called  'of  Kabul',  and  so  1909,  pp.  276-81). 
renders  the  whole  story  unintelli- 


384-         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

assembled  an  apparcntlj^  formidable  force  to  oppose  him. 
But  the  heart  of  the  Chandel  king  failed  him,  and,  like 
Rajyapala,  he  fled  from  the  field  without  giving  battle.  His 
camp,  munitions,  and  elephants  were  left  a  prey  to  the 
Sultan,  who  returned  as  usual  to  Ghazni  with  heaps  of 
spoil. ^ 
Succes-  Nothing  is  known  about  Trilochanapala  except  that  he 

Rajya-        ineffectually  resisted  Mahmud's  passage  of  the  Jumna  at  the 
pala.  ci^d  (jf  1019  or  the  beginning  of  1020,  and  made  the  grant 

of  a  village  near  Allahabad  in  a.d.  1027.^  A  raja  named 
Yasahpala,  who  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  of  a.d.  1036, 
may  have  been  his  immediate  successor.^  Other  obscure 
chiefs  continued  to  be  recognized  as  Rajas  of  Kanauj,  and 
governed  a  considerable  territory,  no  doubt  in  subordination 
to  Muhammadan  kings,  even  after  the  reduction  of  Kanauj 
ill  1194.  The  names  of  some  of  these  chiefs  have  been 
preserved.  They  seem  to  have  resided  at  Zafarabad  near 
Jaunpur.  But  these  later  chiefs  did  not  belong  to  the  old 
Gurjara-Pratihara  dynasty,  which  disappeared  utterly. 
Kanauj  had  been  conquered  and  occupied,  a  little  before 
A.D.  1090,  by  a  raja  of  the  Gaharwar  clan,  named  Chandra- 
deva,  who  established  his  authority  certainly  over  Benares 
and  Ajodhya,  and  perhaps  over  the  Delhi  territory.*  The 
city  of  Delhi  had  been  founded  about  a  century  earlier,  in 
A.D.  993-4.5 

»  The  history  is  obtained  from  (A.S.  Prog.  Rep.,  N.  Circle,  1907- 

the  Chandel  inscriptions  in  ii'^j./wrf.,  8,  pp.  21,39).    Another  grant  of  the 

i,  219;  ii,  28.5,  combined  with  the  same  raja  was  executed  two  years 

Muhammadan  accounts  in  Elliot,  later  at  Ajodhya  {lAicknow  Prov. 

vol.  ii,  pp.  464.-7.     The  dates   are  Miis.  Pep.,  1911-12,  p.  3),  as  was 

often  stated  erroneously  by  English  a  third  grant  dated  a.  d.  1156, 

authors.  *  Notes  on  Afyhnnistan,  p.  320. 

^  Inscription  No.  60  of  Kielhorn's  The  late  Major  Raverty  informed 

Ijist.     Cunningham  {Coins  of  Med.  me  that  his  authority  for  the  date 

India,  p.  61)   confounds  Trilocha-  was    the    Zain-ul-AkJxir    by    Abu 

napala  of  Kanauj  with  the  prince  of  S'ald-i-Abu-l  Hakk,  who  wrote  his 

the  same  name  who  was  the  last  of  history    in    the    time    of    Sultan 

the  Shahiyas  of  Ohind.  Mahmud  and  his  sons,  not  many 

^  Colebrooke,  Essays,  ii,  246.  years  after  the  date  stated.     An- 

*  Inscription  No.  7,5  of  Kielhorn's  other   more   modern   writer    dates 

jA.st ;  Jnd.Ant.,-Kv\\\,\^.     Copper-  the    foundation    in    the    year   440 

plate  grant  of  Raja  Chandradeva,  of  Bikramajit,  which  of  course,  is 

dated  a.  d.  1090  (1 148  v.  e.),  found  absurd  ;  but  if  the  figures  are  taken 

at  Chandravati  in  Benares  District,  as  referring  to  the  Harsha  era,  the 

and    now    in     Lucknow    Museum  date  would  be  a.d.  104.5,  about  the 


GAHARWAR   DYNASTY  385 

The  Gaharwar  dynasty,  subsequently  known  as  Rathor,^  Gaharwar 
thus  founded  by  Chandradeva,  lasted  until  the  subjugation  Kanauj. 
of  Kanauj  by  Shihab-ud-dln,  in  a.d.  1194  (a.h.  590). 
Govindachandra,  grandson  of  Cliandradeva,  enjoyed  a  long 
reign,  which  included  the  years  a.d.  1104;  and  1155.  His 
numerous  land  grants  and  widely  distributed  coins  prove  that 
he  succeeded  to  a  large  extent  in  restoring  the  glories  of 
Kanauj,  and  in  making  himself  a  power  of  considerable 
importance.* 

The  grandson  of  Govindachandra  was  Jayachchandra, 
renowned  in  the  popular  Hindi  poems  and  tales  of  Northern 
India  as  Raja  Jaichand,  whose  daughter  was  carried  off  by 
the  gallant  Rai  Pithora  of  Ajmer.  He  was  known  to  the 
Muhammadan  historian  as  the  king  of  Benares,  which,  per- 
haps, may  be  regarded  as  having  been  his  capital,  and  was 
reputed  the  greatest  king  in  India.  It  is  alleged  that  his 
territory  extended  from  the  borders  of  China  to  the  province 
of  Malvva,  and  from  the  sea  to  within  ten  days*  journey  of 
Lahore,  but  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  it  can  have  been 
really  so  extensive.  Shihab-ud-din  met  him  at  Chandawar 
in  the  Etawah  District  near  the  Jumna,  and  having  defeated 
his  huge  host  with  immense  slaughter,  in  which  the  raja 
was  included,  passed  on  to  Benares,  which  he  plundered, 
carrying  off  the  treasure  on  1,400  camels.^  Thus  ends  the 
story  of  the  independent  kingdom  of  Kanauj.     When  the 

time  of  Anangapala.    Tieffenthaler  S.  B.,  part  i,  vol.  liv  (1885),  p.  160). 

was    told    that    Delhi    had    been  The  appellation  '  Rathor '  applied  to 

founded  by  a  Tomar  raja  named  the  Kanauj  rajas  is  due  solely  to  the 

Rasena  in  a.h.  307  =  a.d.  919-20  claim  made  by  the  '  Rathor '  chiefs 

(Oiogr.  de  Vlndoustan,  Fr.  transl.,  of  Jodhpur  to  be  descended  from 

Berlin,  1791,   p.   1-25).     In  certain  Raja     Jaichand     (Jayachchandra, 

inscriptions    and    popular    verses  Ind.    Ant.,    xiv,    98-101)    through 

Delhi   is    called   Yoginlpura   {Ind.  a    boy    who    escaped     massacre. 

Ant.,  1912,  p.  86).  Stories  of  this  kind  are  common- 

1  The      'Rathor      dynasty      of  places    of    family    traditions    and 

Kanauj  '   commonly  mentioned   in  historically  worthless.    No  Tomara 

books   is  a  myth.     The  rajas  be-  dynasty  of  Kanauj  ever  existed, 

longed  to  the  Gahadavala  or  Gahar-  »  Nearly  sixty  grants  made   by 

war  clan,  as  is  expressly  affirmed  the  dynasty   are  known,  most  of 

in  the  Basahi  copperplate  grant  of  which  belong  to  Govindachandra's 

Govindachandra  dated  1161  V,  E.=  rei^n.     For  the   coins,  see   Catah 

A.D.  1104  (No.  n  of  List ;  Ind.Ant.,  Coins  I.  M.,  vol.  i,  pp.  257,  260. 

xiv,  103),  and   recognized  by  the  ^  Kdmilu-t-Tmcdrikh,   Elliot,   ii, 

traditions  of  the  Gautam  clan  (/.  ^ .  25 1 . 

1626  C    C 


386        THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 

iHJas  of  the  Gaharwar  line  died  out,  their  place  was  taken 
])y  chiefs  of  the  Chandel  clan  from  Mahoba,  who  became 
the  local  rulers  of  Kanauj  for  eight  generations.^ 
Chauhans  Inscriptions  record  the  genealogy  of  a  long  line  of  Rajput 
bhar  and  kings  belonging  to  the  Chauhan  (Chahumana)  clan  who 
Ajnier;  governed  the  principality  of  Sambhar  (Sakambhari)  in 
Rajputana,  to  which  Ajmer  was  attached.  Only  two  of 
these  chiefs  demand  notice.  Vigraha-raja  (Visaladeva,  Bisal 
Deo),  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  extended  his 
ancestral  dominions  considerably,  and  is  alleged  to  have 
conquered  Delhi  from  a  chief  of  the  Tomara  clan.  That 
chief  was  a  descendant  of  Anangapala,  who,  a  century  earlier, 
had  built  the  Red  Fort,  where  the  Kutb  mosque  now  stands, 
and  thus  given  permanence  to  the  city,  which  had  been 
founded  in  a.d.  993-4.^  Europeans  are  so  accustomed  to 
associate  the  name  of  Delhi  with  the  sovereignty  of  India 
that  they  do  not  easily  realize  the  fact  that  Delhi  is  among 
the  most  modern  of  the  great  Indian  cities.  Vague  legends, 
it  is  true,  irradiate  the  lands  along  the  bank  of  the  Jumna 
near  the  village  of  Indarpat  with  the  traditional  glories  of 
the  prehistoric  Indraprastha,  and  these  stories  may  or  may 
not  have  some  substantial  basis.  But,  as  an  historical  city, 
Delhi  dates  only  from  the  time  of  Anangapala  in  the  middle 
of  the  eleventh  century.  The  celebrated  iron  pillar,  on  which 
the  eulogy  of  a  powerful  king  named  Chandra  is  incised,  was 
removed  by  the  Tomara  chief  from  its  original  position, 
probably  at  Mathura,  and  set  up  in  a.d.  1052  as  an  adjunct 
to  a  group  of  temples,  from  the  materials  of  which  the 
Muhammadans  afterwards  constructed  the  grejit  mosque.^ 

^  J.  ^.(S.  J5.,  part  i,  vol.  i  (1881),  transported  iron  pillar,  date  from 

pp.  48,  49.  the  eleventh  century  (J.  R.  A.  S., 

*  For  the  genealogy,  see  Kielhorn  1897,  p.    13).     For  the  Red  Fort 

in  Ep.   Ind.,  viii,  'Supplement  to  (Lalkot),  see  Cunningham,  7?epor^», 

Northern  List,'  p.  13.     Ajmer  was  i,    153.     For    Indarpat,    see    Carr 

founded  about  a.  d.  1100  by  Ajaya-  Stephens,  Archaeology  ofJJelhiiSvo 

deva  Chauhan.     Coins  of  him  and  ed.,  1876),  pp.  1-8  ;  Fanshawe, /)e//ii 

hLs  queen,  SonialadevI,  are  extant  Past  and  Present   (1902),   p.    228. 

{Ind.  Ant.,  1912,  p.  209).  There  was  no  Tomara  dynasty  of 

^  The  traditional  story  of  the  Kanauj.  Cunningham's  argument 
foundation  of  Delhi  by  an  imaginary  {Reports,  i,  150)  rests  mainly  on  the 
Anangapala  I  is  fictitious.  The  misreading  of  Rai  Jaipal  for  Raj- 
earliest     remains,     excepting     the  yapal  in  Al  Utbi. 


IIAI    PITIIORA  387 

Vigraha-rajii  (IV),  or  Visaladeva,  who  is  said,  with  douhtful  Vi{?r.ilia- 
trutli,  to  have  wrested  Delhi  from  the  Tomaras,  was  a  man  Vf^ala- 
of   considerable  distinction.     Some   years    ixu;o,   during   the  deva. 
progress  of    repairs   executed    at    the    principal   mosque   of 
Ajmer,  six  slabs  of  polished  black  marble  were  discovered 
bearing    inscriptions    in    Sanskrit    and    Prakrit,    which    on 
examination  proved  to  be  large  portions  of  two  uid^nown 
dramas.     One  of  these,  the  Lalita-  Viyraha-rdja-ndtaka,  was 
composed  in  honour  of  Vigraha-raja,  while  the  other,  the 
Harakali-ndtaka,  professes  to  be  the  composition  of  that 
prince  himself.' 

The  nephew  of   this   literary   warrior   was   Prithivi-raja,  Prithivi- 
Prithiraj,   or    Rai    Pithora,   lord    of    Sambhar    and    Ajmer,  ^"^^^^^ 
famous  in  song  and  story  as  a  chivalrous  lover  and  doughty  Pithora. 
champion.     His  fame  as  a  bold  lover  rests  upon  his  daring 
abduction  of    the  not  unwilling  daughter  of  Jaichand,  the 
Gaharwar    Raja  of   Kanauj,  which  occurred   in    or   about 
A.  D.  1175.     His  reputation  as  a  general  is  securely  founded 
upon  his  defeat  of  the  Chandel  Raja,  Parmal,  and  the  capture 
of  Mahoba  in  1182,  as  well  as  upon  gallant  resistance  to  the 
flood  of  Muhammadan  invasion.    Indeed,  Rai  Pithora  may  be 
described  with  justice  as  the  popular  hero  of  Northern  India, 
and  his  exploits  in  love  and  war  are  the  subject  of  rude  epics 
and  bardic  lays  to  this  day.'- 

^  Kielhorn,  Bruchstucke  indischer  A.  S.  B.,  Feb.  1911,  Ann.  Rep.,  p. 

Schauspiele  in  Inschriften  zu  Ajmere  xxx).     The  supposed  chronological 

(Berlin,  1901),  errors  in  the  RaisCi  are  explained 

"^  The  best-known  work  dealing  by  the  discovery  that  the  author  used 

with  Prithlraj  is  the  Chand-Rdisu,  the  Ananda  variety  of  the  Vikrama 

or  Prithlriij-Rutsd,  a   Hindi  epic,  era,  equivalent  roughly  to  a.  d.  33, 

extremely  popular  in   the  United  and  so  90-1  years  later  than  the 

Provinces.    The  authorship  is  attri-  ordinary  Sananda  Vikrama  era  of 

butedtoChand  Bardai,whowasthe  58-57   b.c.    {J.  R.  A.  S.,    1906,   p. 

court  poet  of  his  hero  and  patron,  500).     The  terms  Ananda  and  Sa- 

A  descendant  of  the  poet  still  lives  tuinda  mean  respectively  '  without ' 

in  the  Jodhpur  State  on  the  income  and  '  with '  Nanda,  the  name  Nanda 

of  the  lands  granted  to  his  ancestor  being  used  as  a  symbol  for  90  or 

by  Prithlraj.     He  has  the  MS.  of  91.     It    seems    to    be   properly   a 

theoriginalpoem,  consisting  of  only  symbol  for  9,  with  reference  to  the 

5,000  verses.    Additions  were  made  '  Nine  Nandas '.     100   minus  9   is 

by  descendants  until  Akbar's  time,  ananrfa  =  91  (Grierson).     The  San- 

enlargingthe  work  to  125,000 verses,  skrit  work  from  Kashmir,  entitled 

Copies  of  part  of  the  original  have  Prithivlrajn  vijaya,  discovered  and 

been  made,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  made  known  by  Biihler,  is  of  higher 

whole  may  be  published  {J.  Sf  Proc.  authority  and  great  historical  value, 

C  C2 


388 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 


Battle  of 
Tarain  or 
Talawarl 


The  dread  inspired  by  the  victorious  Musahnan  army  under 
the  command  of  Shihfib-ud-din,  who  was  now  undisputed 
master  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Panjab,  constrained  the 
jarring  states  of  Northern  India  to  lay  aside  their  quarrels 
and  combine  for  a  moment  against  the  foreign  foe.  At 
first  fortune  smiled  on  the  Indians;  and  in  a.d.  1191 
(a.h.  587)  Prithivi-raja  succeeded  in  inflicting  a  severe  defeat 
upon  the  invaders  at  Tarain  or  Talawari  between  Thanesar 
and  Karnal,  which  forced  them  to  retire  beyond  the  Indus. 
A  year  later,  in  a.d.  1192  (a.h.  588),  the  Sultan,  having 
returned  with  a  fresh  force,  again  encountered  on  the  same 
field  Prithivl-raja,  who  Avas  at  the  head  of  an  immense  host, 
swollen  by  contingents  from  numerous  confederate  princes. 
A  vigorous  charge  by  twelve  thousand  well-armed  Musalman 
horsemen  repeated  the  lesson  given  by  Alexander  long  ages 
before,  and  demonstrated  the  inability  of  a  mob  of  Indian 
militia  to  stand  the  onset  of  trained  cavalry.  Prithivi-raja, 
having  been  taken  prisoner,  was  executed  in  cold  blood,  and 
the  wretched  inhabitants  of  his  capital  Ajmer  were  either 
put  to  the  sword  or  sold  into  slavery.^ 


It  was  composed  between  a.d. 
1178  and  1200,  probably  later  than 
1191.  Its  genealogical  statements 
are  supported  by  the  inscriptions. 

Arnoraja 


The  correct  lineage  of  Prithivi-raja 
according  to  the  Prithivlraja-vijaya 
is  : — 


Unnamed  son,  Vigraha-raja 

parricide  (Jugdeva)         or 

I  Visaladeva 

Prithivi-raja  I 


Chand's  statement  that  Rai  Pithora 
(PrithTraj)  was  the  son  of  the 
daughter  of  Anangapala,  king  of 
Delhi,  is  erroneous.  The  single 
imperfect  MS.  of  the  Prlfhivirdja 
vijaya  has  been  described  and 
summarized  by  Har  Bilas  Sarda  in 
J.  R.  A.  S.,  1913,  pp.  259-81,  with 
references  to  earlier  notices  of  the 
work.  He  uses  the  spelling  Frith- 
ri.  The  truth  of  the  assertion 
that  Vigraha-raja  wrested  Delhi 
from    the    Tomaras    is    extremely 


Sorae^vara,  ra.  princess  of  Chedi 

I  I 

Prithivi-raja  II         Hari-raja 
or 
Rai  Pithora. 

doubtful  (Buhler,  Proc.  A.  S.  B., 
1893,  p.  94).  It  seems  to  be  con- 
tradicted by  verse  22  of  the  Bijoli 
inscription  (./.  A.S.B.,  part  i,  vol. 
Iv  (1886^,  p.  31). 

^  Raverty,  transl.  Tabakdt-i- 
NdHirl,  pp.  45G,  4-.59,  467,  468,  485, 
486,  and  App.  A.  Most  English 
books  give  the  dates  inaccurately 
and  miscall  the  battle-field  Tirauri. 
A.  n.  587,  588,  and  589,  are  almost 
exactly  equivalent  to  the  years 
A.n.   1191-3,  extending  from  29th 


CONQUEST   OF   HINDUSTAN  389 

In  A.  D.  1193, 1194^  (a.  fi.  589,  590),  both  Delhi  and  Kaiiuuj  Conquest' 

fell.     Benares,  the  holy  citadel  of  Hinduism,  in  the  latter  year  "/  ^.^'"' 
^  •'        _  •'  •'  (liist;in. 

became  the  prize  of  the  victors,  who  could  now  feel  confident 
that  the  final  triumph  of  the  arms  of  Islam  over  '  the  land  of 
the  Brahmans'  was  assured.  The  surrender  of  Gwalior  in 
1196,  the  capture  in  1197  of  Anhilwara  the  capital  of 
Gujarat,  and  the  capitulation  of  Kalanjar  in  1203  completed 
the  reduction  of  Upper  India,  and  when  Shihab-ud-din  died 
in  A.D.  1205-6  (a.h.  602),  he— 

^Held,  in  different  degrees  of  subjection,  the  whole  of 
Hindustan  Proper,  except  Malwa  and  some  contiguous 
districts.  Sind  and  Bengal  were  cither  entirely  su1)due(l,  or 
in  rapid  course  of  reduction.  On  Gujarat  he  iiad  no  hold, 
except  what  is  implied  in  the  possession  of  the  capital 
(Anhilwara  or  Nahrwala).  Much  of  Hindustan  was  im- 
mediately under  his  officers,  and  the  rest  under  dependent  or 
at  least  tributary  princes.  The  desert  and  some  of  the 
mountains  were  left  independent  from  neglect.'  ^ 

An  important  consequence  of  the  Muslim  conquest  of  Migration 
Kanauj  was  the  migration  of  the  bulk  of  the  Gaharwar  clan  ^^^^  *^' 
to  the  deserts  of  Marwar  in  Rajputana,  where  they  settled 

January,  1191,  to  26th  December,  and  colleague,  who  was  also  named 

1193.     A  Hindu  tale  that  Prithivl-  Muhammad,    is    known    as    both 

raja  was  taken  to   Ghazni,  where  Shams-ud-din  and  Ghiyas-ud-dunya 

he  shot  the  Sultan,  and  was  then  wa  ud-dln   (Raverty,   J.  A.  S.  />'., 

cut    to    pieces,    is    false.     Sultan  vol.  xlv,  part  1,  p.  328).    The  article 

Shihab-ud-din  was  assassinated  at  cited  fully  justifies  the  chronology 

the  halting-place  of  '  Damyek ',  in  adopted  in  the  text.    Raja  Jaichand 

the  year  602  (a.  d.   1205-6),  by  a  was  defeated  and  killed  at  Chanda- 

fanaticoftheMulahidahsect.    The  war  in   the   Etawah    District  near 

exact  spot,  the  scene  of  the  surprise,  the  Jumna.     Mr.    Banerji    rightly 

has  been  visited  by  Mr.  G.  P.  Tate  points  out  that  there  is  no  evidence 

and  identified  at  Dhamiak  in  the  that    Kanauj    was    then    sacked. 

JhelumDistrict, Panjab(./. -R. ^.  5..  The    Musalman   army   passed    on 

1909,  p.    168).     The   phrase   attri-  to  Benares.     But  the  Kanauj  ter- 

buted  to  Firishtah  by  his  translator  ritory,    including   the    city,    must 

that   'this   prodigious  army,  once  have  then  passed  under  Muhamma- 

shaken,  like  a  great  building  tot-  dan  control.     The  array   probably 

tered  to  its  fall,  &c.',  is  not  in  the  did  not  visit  Kanauj,  which  is  on 

Persian.  the   Ganges.    _The   city   certainly 

'  Elphinstone,    Hist,    of  India,  was  taken  by  Iltutmish  (Altamsh) 

5th  ed.,  p.  338.     Shihab-ud-dIn  is  in  or  about  a.d.  1226  (J.  S^-  Proc. 

designated     by    an     inconvenient  A.S.B.,  1911,  pp.   761,  765,  769). 

variety    of   names   and    titles,   as  It  would  seem  that  in  1194  Kanauj 

Muhammad     the     son     of     Siim,  was    treated    as    an    unimportant 

Muhammad    Ghorl.    or   Muizz-ud-  place    which   could    be   left  aside 

din.     Similarly,  his   elder  brother  without  danger. 


390 


THE   KINGDOxMS   OF  THE   NORTH 


Jejaka- 

bhukti 

andChedi. 


Prede- 
cessors 
of  the 
Chandels. 


and  became  known  as  llathors.  The  state  so  t'ounded,  now 
generally  designated  by  the  name  of  its  capital,  Jodhpur,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  principalities  of  Rajputana.^ 
Similar  clan  movementSj  necessitated  by  the  pressure  of 
Muhammadan  armies,  which  were  frequent  at  this  period, 
account  to  a  large  extent  for  the  existing  distribution  of  the 
Rajput  clans. 

VI 

The  Chandels  of  Jejdkabhvkti  and  the  Kalachuris  of  Chcdi 

The  ancient  name  of  the  province  between  the  Jumna  and 
Narmada,  now  known  as  Bundelkhand,  and  partly  included 
in  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh,  was  Jejaka- 
bhukti.^  The  extensive  region,  farther  to  the  south,  which 
is  novv'  under  the  administration  of  the  Chief  Commissioner 
of  the  Central  Provinces,  nearly  corresponds  with  the  old 
kingdom  of  Chedi.  In  the  mediaeval  history  of  these 
countries  two  dynasties — the  Chandels  of  Jejakabhukti  and 
the  Kalachuris  of  Chedi — which  occasionally  were  connected 
by  marriage,  and  constantly  were  in  contact  one  with  the 
other,  whether  as  friends  or  enemies,  are  conspicuous.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  elev^enth  century  the  Chedi  country  was 
divided  into  two  kingdoms,  Western  Chedi,  or  Dahala,  with 
its  capital  at  Tripura,  near  Jabalpur,  and  Eastern  Chcdi,  or 
Mahakosala,  with  its  capital  at  Ratanpur. 

The  Chandels,  like  several  other  dynasties,  first  come  into 
notice  early  in  the  ninth  century,  when  Nannuka  Chandel, 
about  A.D.  831,  overthrew  a  Parihar  chieftain,  and  became 
lord  of  the  southern  parts  of  Jejakabhukti.  The  Parihfirs  of 
Bundelkhand,  like  their  brethren  of  Bhinmal,  must  have 
belonged  to  the  Gurjara  or  Gujar  group  of  tribes  which  had 
entered  India  in  the  sixth  century.     Tlie  Parihar  capital  had 


^  Imp.  Oaz.,  xiv,  183.  Real  Ra- 
thors  had  been  settled  at  Bali  in 
Marwar  as  early  as  the  tenth  cen- 
tury (ibid.,  vi,  287;, 

*  i.  c.  the  province  of  Jejjika  ;  the 
name  Jejaka  or  Jeja  occurs  in  the 


inscriptions  (Ep.  Ind.,  i,  121\  Com- 
pare Itrabhukti,  Tirhut.  The  name 
of  the  ruling  clan  is  Chandel  in 
Hindi,  Chandella  in  Sanskrit.  It  is 
better  to  use  the  Hindi  form. 


THE   CIIANDKLS  391 

been  at  Mau-Sahaniya,  between  Nowgong  (Naugaon)  and 
Chhatarpur.^  The  predecessors  of  the  Parihars  were 
Gaharwar  Rajas,  members  of  the  chin  whicli  afterwards  gave 
Kanauj  the  line  of  kings  commonly  miscalled  Rathors. 

The  Chandel  princes  were  great  builders,  and  beautified  Chandcl 
their  chief  towns,  Mahoba,  Kiilanjar,  and  Khajuraho,  with  and  lakes 
many  magnificent  temples  and  lovely  lakes,  formed  by 
throwing  massive  dams  across  the  openings  between  the  hills. 
In  this  practice  of  building  embankments  and  constructing 
lakes  the  Chandels  were  imitators  of  the  Gaharwars,  who 
are  credited  with  the  formation  of  some  of  the  most  charming 
lakes  in  Bundelkhand. 

The  Chandels,  who  appear  to  have  been  Hinduized  Gonds,  YaiSo- 
closely  connected  with  another  autochthonous  tribe,  the  ^*'"™^"- 
Bhars,  firs  acquired  a  petty  principality  near  Chhatarpur, 
and  gradually  advanced  northwards  until  the  Jumna  became 
the  frontier  between  their  dominions  and  those  of  Kanauj. 
The  earlier  rajas  may  have  been  subject  to  the  suzerainty  of 
Bhoja  and  Mahendrapala,  the  powerful  kings  of  Panchala, 
but  in  the  first  half  of  the  tenth  century  the  Chandels 
certainly  had  become  independent.  Harsha  Chandel,  aided 
perhaps  by  other  allies,  helped  Mahipala  to  recover  the 
throne  of  Kanauj  from  which  he  had  been  driven  by  Indra  III 
Rashtrakuta  in  a.d.  916.  Harsha's  son  and  successor, 
Yasovarman,  whose  power  had  been  greatly  enhanced  by  the 
occupation  of  the  fortress  of  Kalanjar,  was  strong  enough 
to  compel  Mahipala's  successor,  Devapala,  to  surrender  a 
valuable  image  of  Vishnu,  which  the  Chandel  king  wanted  for 
a  temple  built  by  him  at  Khajuraho. 

King  Dhanga,  son  of  Yasovarman  (a.  d.  950-99),  who  a.  d.  950- 
lived  to  an  age  of  more  than  a  hundred  years,  was  the  most  Dh^nffa. 
notable  of  his  family.  Some  of  the  grandest  temples  at 
Khajuraho  are  due  to  his  munificence,  and  he  took  an  active 
part  in  the  politics  of  his  time.  In  a.  d.  989  or  990  he 
joined  the  league  formed  by  Jaipal,  king  of  the  Panjab,  to 
resist  Sabuktigin,  and  shared  with  the  Rajas  of  Ajmer  and 
Kanauj  in  the  disastrous  defeat  which  the  allies  suffered 
1  /.  A.S.B.,  1881,  parti,  p.  «. 


392        THE    KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

between  Bannu  and  Ghazni,  in  or  near  the  Kurram  (Kurmah) 
valley.^ 
A.D.  999-       When  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  threatened  to  overrun   India, 

1025.  .    . 

Ganda.       Dhanga's  son  Ganda  (999-1025)  joined  the  new  confederacy 

of  Hindu  princes  organized  by  Anand  Pal,  son   of  Jaipal, 

king  of  the  Panjab,  in  1008-9  (a.h.  399),  which  also  failed  to 

stay  the  hand  of  the  invader.     Ten  years  later,  as  already 

narrated,  Ganda's  son  attacked  Kanauj  and  killed  the  Raja, 

Rajyapala,  who  had  made  terms  with  the  Muhammadans  ; 

but   early   in    1023    (a.  h.  413)   was   himself   compelled  to 

surrender  the  strong  fortress  of  Kalanjar  to  Mahmud,^  who, 

however,   did   not   retain   it  or  any  of  his  conquests  in  the 

interior  of  India  beyond  the  Panjab. 

A.D.  1015-      Gangeyadeva   Kalachuri   of   Chedi    (circa   1015-40),  the 

Gangeya-  contemporary  of  Ganda  and  his  successors,  was  an  able  and 

deva  and    ambitious  prince,  who  aimed  at  attaining  the  position  of 

devaKala- paramount  power  in  Upper  India,  and  succeeded  to  a  con- 

^  ""•         siderable  extent.      In  1019  his  suzerainty  was  recognized  in 

distant  Tirhut.^     His  projects  of  aggrandizement  were  taken 

up  and  proceeded  with  by  his  son  Karnadeva  [circa  1040- 

70),  who  joined  Bhima,  king  of  Gujarat,  in  crushing  Bhoja, 

the   learned    king   of   Malvva,    about   a.d.    1060.     He   had 

attacked  the  Pala  king  of  Magadha  at  an  earlier  date,  about 

A.D.  1035. 

A.D.  1049-      But  some  years  later  Karnadeva  was  taught  the  lesson 

1100 

Kirti-  of  the  mutability  of  fortune  by  suffering  defeats  inflicted  by 
IF™*°.  several  hostile  kings,  and  notably  one  at  the  hands  of 
Kirtivarman  Chandel  (1049-1100),  who  widely  extended  the 
dominion  of  his  house.  The  earliest  extant  specimens  of  the 
rare  Chandel  coinage  were  struck  by  this  king  in  imitation  of 
the  issues  of  Gangeyadeva  of  Chedi.  Kirtivarman  is  also 
memorable  in  literary  history  as  the  patron  of  the  curious 

'  Raverty,  Notes  on  Afghanistan,  reprint).     M.  Sylvain  L^vi  rejects 

p.  320.  Bendall's  interpretation  (Le  N6pal, 

*  Tahakdt-i-Ndsirl  in   Elliot,   ii,  ii,  202,  note\  but  without  sufficient 

467,  where   a.d.    1021    is  wrongly  reason.     See  R.  D.  Banerji  in 'The 

stated    to    be    the    equivalent    of  'PaXatsoi^engaiV  [Memoirs  A.  S.  B., 

a.  H.  413.  1913),  a  proof  of  which  has  been 

^  Bendall,  'Hist,   of  Nepal'  {J.  placed  at  my  disposal. 
A.  a.  B.,   1903,   part  i,   p.    18  of 


CAPTURE   OF   KALANJAR  f393 

allegorical  play  entitled  the  Prabodha-chandrodaya,  or  *  Rise 
of  the  Moon  of  Intellect ',  which  was  perfornied  at  his  court 
in  or  about  a.  d.  1065,  and  gives  in  dramatic  form  a  clever 
exposition  of  the  Vedanta  system  of  philosophy.' 

The  last  Chandel  king  to  play  any  considerable  part  upon  a. d.  liovi- 
the  stage  of  history  was  Paramardi,  or  Parmal  (1165-1203),  Parmal 
whose  reign  is  memorable  for  his  defeat  in  1182  by  Prithivi- 
raja  Chauhan,  and  for  the  capture  of  Kalanjar  in  1203 
(a.h.  599)  by  Kutb-ud-din  Ibak.^  The  Chauhan  and 
Chandel  war  occupies  a  large  space  in  the  popular  Hindi 
epic,  the  Chand-Rdisd,  which  is  familiar  to  the  people  of 
Upper  India. 

The  account  of  the  death  of  Parmal  and  the  capture  of  a.  n.  1203. 
Kalanjar,    as    told     by    the     contemporary    Muhammadan  CapitiUa- 
historian,  may  be  quoted  as  a  good  illustration  of  the  process  t'O"  of 
by  which  the  Hindu  kingdoms  passed  under  the  rule  of  their 
new  Muslim  masters : — 

' ''  The  accursed  Parmar,"  the  Rai  of  Kalanjar,  fled  into  the 
fort  after  a  desperate  resistance  in  the  field,  and  afterwards 
surrendered  himself,  and  placed  "the  collar  of  subjection" 
round  his  neck ;  and,  on  his  promise  of  allegiance,  was 
admitted  to  the  same  favours  as  his  ancestor  had  experienced 
from  Mahmud  Sabuktigin,  and  engaged  to  make  a  payment 
of  tribute  and  elephants,  but  he  died  a  natural  death  before 
he  could  execute  any  of  his  engagements.  His  Dlwan,  or 
Mahtea,  by  name  Aj  Deo,  was  not  disposed  to  surrender  so 
easily  as  his  master,  and  gave  his  enemies  much  trouble,  until 
he  was  compelled  to  capitulate  in  consequence  of  severe 
drought  having  dried  up  all  the  reservoirs  of  water  in  the 
forts.  "  On  Monday,  the  20th  of  Rajab,  the  garrison,  in  an 
extreme  state  of  weakness  and  distraction,  came  out  of  the 
fort,  and  by  compulsion  left  their  native  place  empty ;  .  .  . 
and  the  fort  of  Kalanjar,  which  was  celebrated  throughout 
the  world  for  being  as  strong  as  the  wall  of  Alexander,'^  was 
taken.  ^'The  temples  were  converted  into  mosques  and 
abodes  of  goodness,  and  the  ejaculations  of  the  bead-counters 
and  the  voices  of  the  summoners  to  prayer  ascended  to  the 

^  A  full  abstract  of  the  play  is  "^  There    is    a    variant    reading 

given    by    Sylvain    L^vi    {'ITimre  a.h.   597    (a.  d.    1200-1-201)  in  the 

Indien,  pp.  229-35).     See  plate  of  text  of  the  TdJ-ul-Madsir  (Raverty, 

coins,  fig.  13.  transl.  Tabakaf,  App.  D). 


394        THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

highest  heaven,  and  the  very  name  of  idolatry  was  ainii- 
hihited.  .  .  .  Fifty  thousand  men  came  imder  the  collar  of 
slavery,  and  the  plain  became  black  as  pitch  with  Hindus." 
Elephants  and  cattle,  and  countless  arms  also,  became  the 
spoil  of  the  victors. 

*The  reins  of  victory  were  then  directed  towards  Mahoba, 
and  the  {government  of  Kalanjar  was  conferred  on  Hazabbar- 
ud-din  Hasan  Arnal.  When  Kutb-ud-din  was  satisfied  with 
all  the  arrangements  made  in  that  quarter,  he  went  towards 
Badaun,  "which  is  one  of  the  mothers  of  cities,  and  one  of  the 
chiefest  of  the  country  of  Hind."'  ^ 

The  last         Chandel  Rajas  lingered  on  in  Bundelkhand  as  purely  local 

Chandels.   chiefs  until  the  sixteenth  century,  but  their  affairs  are  of  no 

general  interest.^     The  Chandel  clan  was  scattered,  and  its 

most  notable  modern  representative  is  the  Raja  of  Gidhaur, 

near  Mungir  (Monghyr)  in  Bengal. 

The  last         The  Kalachuri  or  Haihaya  Rajas  of  Chedi  are  last  men- 

Kak-  tioned  in   an   inscription   of  the  year   a.d.    1181,   and  tlie 

churls.       manner  of  their  disappearance  is  not  exactly  known ;   but 

there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  supplanted  by  the 

Baghels  of  Rewa.     The   Hayobans  Rajputs  of  the  Baliya 

district  in  the  east  of  the  United  Provinces  claim  descent 

from  the  Rajas  of  Ratanpur  in  the  Central  Provinces,  and 

probably  are  really  an  offshoot  of  the  ancient  Haihaya  race. 

The  later  kings  of  Chedi  used  an  era  according  to  which  the 

year  1  was  equivalent  to  a.d.  248-9.     This  era,  also  called 

the  Traikutaka,  originated  in  Western  India,  where  its  use 

can  be  traced  back  to  the  fifth  century."     The  reason  of  its 

adoption  by  the  kings  of  Chedi  is  not  apparent. 

^  TdJ-ul-Madsir,  as  abstracted  by  History  and  Coinage  of  the  Chandel 

Elliot,  Hist,  of  India,  vol.  ii,  p.  231  ;  (Chandella)    Dynasty   of    Bundel- 

Raverty,  trcmsl.    Tabakdt,  p.    523.  khand    (Jejakabhukti),  from   a.d. 

The  learned  translator,  usually  so  831  to  1203'  {Ind.  Ant.,  1908,  pp. 

accurate,  has  made  an  unlucky  slip  114-48).     One  inscription  of  Para- 

in   this   passage   by  rendering  the  niardi   has   been   discovered  since 

personal  name  Parmar  as  '  of  the  the  publication  of  that  essay  {Ep. 

Pramarah  race'.    Kalanjar  is  in  the  Ind.,  x,  44). 

Banda  District,  N.  lat.25''  1',  E.  long.  '  For  Kalachuri  history,  see  Cun- 

80"  29' ;  Mahoba  is  in  the  Hamlrpur  ningham,  Reports,  vols,   ix,  x,  xxi  ; 

District,  N.    lat.  25"  18',  E.  long.  and  many  inscriptions  in  Ep.  Ind. 

79°  53'.  For  the  era,  see  Fleet  (./.  7^.  A.S., 

■  The     subject    is     exhaustively  1905,   p.   56fi),  and   Kielhorn  {Ep. 

treated   (with   a   bibliography),  in  Ind.,  ix,  129).     For  the  Hayobans 

my     monograph     entitled      'The  Rajputs,  see  Crooke,/i<AMO^rrt/>/jic«/ 


THE   PA  WARS   OF   xMALWA  395 

VII 

Paramdras  (Pawdrs)  of  Malwd 

The  Punimara  dynasty  of  Mahva,  the  region  north  of  the  A.n.  c. 
Narmada,  anciently  known  as  Avanti,  or  the   kingdom   of  paVaniara 
Ujjain,  is  specially  memorable  by  reason  of  its  association  dynasty 
with  many  eminent  names  in  the  history  of  later  Sanskrit 
literature.     Tiie    dynasty    was    founded    by   a    chief   named 
Upendra  or  Krishnaraja,  early  in  tiie  ninth  century,  when 
so  many  ruling  families  attract  notice  for  the  first  time,  and 
it  lasted  for  about  four  centuries.     Upendra  appears  to  have 
come  from  Chandravati  and  Achalgarh,  near  Mount  Abu, 
where  his  clan  had  been  settled  for  a  long  time. 

The  seventh  raja,  named  Munja,  wiio  was  famous  for  his  a.  u.  !)?  i- 
learning  and  eloquence,  was  not  only  a  patron  of  poets,  but  ^^\^ 
himself  a  poet  of  no  small   reputation,  as  attested   by  the  Munja. 
anthologies,  which  include  various  compositions  attributed  to 
his  pen.     The  author  Dhanamjaya  and  his  brother  Dhanika 
were  among  the  distinguished  scholars  who  graced  his  court. 
His  energies  were  not  devoted  solely  to  the  peaceful  pursuit 
of  literature,  much  of  his  time  being  spent  in  fighting  with 
his  neighbours.     Six  times  the  Chalukya  king,  Taila  II,  was 
defeated  by  him.    The  seventh  attack  failed,  and  Munja,  who 
had  crossed  the  Godavari,  Taila's  northern  boundary,  was 
defeated,  captured,  and  executed  about  a.d.  995.^ 

Munja's  nephew,  the  famous  Bhoja,  ascended  the  throne  a.d.  lois- 
of  Dhara,  in  those  days  the  capital  of  Malwa,  about  a.d.  1018,  Bhoja. ^"'^ 
and  reigned  gloriously  for  more  than  forty  years.     Like  his 
uncle,  he  cultivated  M'itii   equal  assiduity  the  arts  of  peace 
and  war.    Although  his  fights  with  the  neighbouring  powers, 

Handbook  (Allahabad,  1898),  p.  156 ;  Ep.  Ind.,  i,  222-8,  294-,  302  ;  Fleet, 

Tribes  and  Castes  of  the  North-West  '  Dynasties  of  Kanarese  Districts,' 

Provinces  and  Oudh,  vol.  ii,  p.  493.  2na  ed.,  p.  432,  in  Bom.  Gaz.,  1896, 

^  Munja    had    an    embarrassing  vol.  i,  part  ii ;  Bhandarkar,  *  Early 

variety   of   names— Vakpati    (II  \  Hist,   of  Dekkan,'  ibid.,  p.    214). 

Utpalaraja,  Amoghavarsha,  Prithi-  The  attacks  were  six,  not  sixteen, 

vTvallabha,   and    Srivallabha.     His  as  erroneously  supposed  by  Biihler 

accession  took  place  in  A.D.  974,  and  (Haag,  DasarCipa,  p.  xxii,  note  4  ; 

his  death  about  twenty  years  later,  Columbia  Univ.  Press,  1912;. 
between   994  and  997  {Biihler,  in 


396 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 


Bhojpur 
lake. 


Later 
history  of 
Malwa. 


including  one  of  the  Muhammadan  armies  of  Mahmiid  of 
Ghazni,  are  now  forgotten,  his  fame  as  an  enlightened  patron 
of  learning  and  a  skilled  author  remains  undimmed,  and  his 
name  has  become  proverbial  as  that  of  the  model  king 
according  to  the  Hindu  standard.  Works  on  astronomy, 
architecture,  the  art  of  poetry,  and  other  subjects  are 
attributed  to  him,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  a  prince, 
like  Samudragupta,  of  very  uncommon  ability.  A  mosque 
at  Dhara  now  occupies  the  site  of  Bhoja's  Sanskrit  college, 
which  seems  to  have  been  held  in  a  temple  dedicated 
appropriately  to  Sarasvati,  the  goddess  of  learning.^ 

The  great  Bhojpur  lake,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  to  the 
south-east  of  Bhopal,  covering  an  area  of  250  square  miles, 
formed  by  massive  embankments  closing  the  outlet  in  a  circle 
of  hills,  was  his  noblest  monument,  and  continued  to  testify 
to  the  skill  of  his  engineers  until  the  fifteenth  century,  when 
the  dam  was  cut  by  order  of  a  Muhammadan  king,  and  the 
water  drained  off.  The  bed  of  the  lake  is  now  a  fertile  plain 
intersected  by  the  Indian  Midland  Railway.^ 

About  A.D.  1060  this  accomplished  prince  succumbed  to 
an  attack  by  the  confederate  kings  of  Gujarat  and  Chedi ; 
and  the  glory  of  his  house  departed.  His  dynasty  lasted 
as  a  purely  local  power  until  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  when  it  was  superseded  by  chiefs  of  the  Tomara 
clan,  who  were  followed  in  their  turn  by  Chauhan  Rajas,^ 
from  whom  the  crown  passed  to  Muhammadan  kings  in  1401. 
Akbar  suppressed  the  local  dynasty  in  1569,  and  incorporated 
Mahva  in  the  Moghal  empire. 


'  Archaeol.  S.  Annual  li^p., 
1903-4,  pp.  238  43.  The  most 
complete  list  of  the  works  ascribed 
to  Bhoja  is  said  to  be  that  in 
Aufrecht's  Cataloffus  Catalogorum, 
vol.  i,  p.  418,  vol.  ii,  p.  95.  For 
Bhoja's  date  and  the  history  of  his 
predecessor,  Sindhuraja,  see  Ind. 
Ant.,  1907,  pp.  170-2.    Two  inscrip- 


tions of  his  are  known,  dated  re- 
spectively in  A.D.  1019  and  1021  = 
V.  E.  1076  and  1078  {hid.  Ant.,  1912, 
p.  201). 

2  Malcolm,  Central  India,  i,  25  ; 
Kincaid,  Ind.  ^n^,xvii,pp.  350-2, 
with  map  of  the  bed  of  the  lake. 

'  Malcolm,   Central  India,  i,  26. 


EARLY   HISTORY   OF   BENGAL  397 

VIII 

Pala  and  Sena  Dynasties  of  Bihar  and  Bengal 

Hursha,  when  at  the  height  of  his  power,  exercised  a  a.  d.  quo. 
certain  amount  of  control  as  suzerain  over  the  whole  of  Ue^jgaf  ° 
Bengal,  even  as  far  east  as  the  distant  kingdom  of  Kama-  unknown, 
rupa,  or  Assam,  and  seems  to  have  possessed  full  sovereign 
authority  over  western  and  central  Bengal.  After  his  death, 
the  local  rajas  no  doubt  asserted  their  independence ;  but, 
except  for  the  strange  story  of  Arjuna  and  Wang-Hiuen-tse, 
related  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  no  particulars  are  known 
concerning  the  history  of  Bengal  for  nearly  a  century. 
Bengali  tradition  traces  the  origin  of  many  notable  families 
to  five  Brahmans  and  five  Kayasths  imported  from  Kanuuj 
by  a  king  named  Adisura  in  order  to  revive  orthodox  Hindu 
customs,  which  had  fallen  into  disuse  during  the  time  when 
Buddhism  was  predominant.  But  no  authentic  record  of 
this  monarch  has  been  discovered.  There  is,  however,  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  actual  existence  of  Adisura,  who  belonged 
to  a  local  dynasty  of  rajas  ruling  Gaur  and  the  neighbour- 
hood. He  may  be  dated  approximately  in  a.u.  700,  or 
a  little  earlier.^ 

Early  in  the  eighth  century  (e.  a.  d,  730-40)  a  chieftain  c  a.d. 
named  Gopala  was  elected  king  of  Bengal,  which  had  been  j^jg^  ^^ 
suffering  from  anarchy.     Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  the  '  Pala 
extended  his  power  westwards  over  Magadha  or  South  Bihar, 

^  '  Up  _to  date  no  authentic  ac-  dynasty  of  Bengal  who  are  said  to 

count  of  Adisura  has  been  obtained.  have  brought  the  five  Brahmanas 

The  oldest  writers  on  Brahmanical  from  Kanauj.     That  they  were  dis- 

genealogy    whose    writings     have  possessed   of  the   greater  part   of 

come  down  to  us — I  refer  particu-  their  dominions  by  the  Palas  is  also 

larlytojiari  Mi^raandEruMi^ra —  asserted   by   the   Bengal  genealo- 

place  Adisura  shortly  before  the  gists '.     RanaSilra  was  one  of  the 

Palas  ;  and  they  state  that  shortly  chiefs    who    helped    Mahlpala    to 

after  the  arrival  of  the  five  Brah-  repel    the    invasion    of    Rajendra 

manas  from  Kanauj,  the  kingdom  Chola,  king  of  KanchT,  about  a.d. 

of    Gaur    became    subject    to   the  1023  (H.P.  Sasir'i,  Mem.  A.  S.  B., 

Palas'  (U.  C,  Batavyal  in  J.  A.  vol.  iii.  No.  1  (1910),  p.  JO).     The 

S.     B.,   part    i,    vol.    Ixiii    (1894),  site  of   the   palace   of  Adisura  is 

p,  41).  pointed  out  at  the  northern  end  of 

'  Rana^ura  of   southern    Radha  the  ruins  of  Gaur,  outside  the  walls 

[sell,  the  Burdwan  Division]  seems  of  Lakhnauti  (ii".  India,  iii,  72). 
to    have    belonged    to    the    Sura 


398         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

and  is  said  to  have  reii^ned  forty-five  years.  He  suffered 
defeat  at  the  hands  of  Vatsanija,  the  Gurjara  king  of 
Rajputana.^  He  was  a  pious  Buddhist,  and  founded  a  great 
monastery  at  Uddandapura,  or  Otantapuri,  the  existing  town 
of  Bihar,  which  seems  to  have  been  at  times  the  capital  of  the 
hiter  Pahi  kings.  Inasmuch  as  the  word  pala  was  an  element 
in  the  personal  names  of  the  founder  of  the  family  and  his 
successors,  the  dynasty  is  commonly  and  conveniently  desig- 
nated as  that  of  the  ^  Pala  kings  of  Bengal '. 
Dharina-        fj^g  Second  king,   Dharmapala,  who  is   credited  with  a 

pala,  iior.        ^  »     .  j.  r       ? 

A.D.  800.    reign  of  sixty-four  years,  is  known  to  have  reigned  for  at 

least   thirty-two   years.     The   Tibetan    historian    Taranath 

expressly  states  that  his  rule   extended  from    the    Bay  of 

Bengal  to   Delhi  and  Jalandhar  in   the  north   and  to  the 

valleys  of  the  Vindhyan  range  in  the  south.     This  ascription 

of   wide    dominion    is    supported    by  the    certain  fact    that 

Dharmapala  dethroned  Indrayudha,  or  Indraraja,  king  of 

Panchala,  whose  capital  was  Kanauj,  and   installed  in   his 

stead  Chakrayudha,  with   the  assent   of   the   neighbouring 

northern  powers,  enumerated  as  the  Bhoja,  Matsya,  Madra, 

Kuru,  Yadu,  Yavana,  Avanti,  Gandhara,  and   Kira   kings. 

This  event  took  place  soon  after  a.  d.  800,  and  prior  to  the 

thirty-second  year  of  Dharmapala's  reign  as  recorded  in  two 

grants.^     It  is  noticeable  that  the  grant  of  four  villages  in 

the  province  of  Paundravardhana  was  issued  from  the  royal 

head-quarters  at  Pataliputra."'     When  Hiuen  Tsang  visited 

the  ancient  imperial  city  in  the  seventh  century  he  had  found 

the  buildings  of  Asoka  in  ruins,  and  the  inhabitants  limited 

to  about  a  thousand  persons  occupying  a  small  walled  town 

on  the  bank  of  the  Ganges  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 

site.*     Apparently  the  city   had  recovered  to  some  extent 

when  Dharmapala  held  his  court  there  about  a.d.  810.     The 

famous  monastery   of    Vikramasila,  which  is  said  to  have 

1  Ilashtrakuta  grants  {Ind.  Ant.,  Ant.,  xv,  304- ;  xx,  308) ;  Khalimpur 

xi,  136,  160;  xii,  164;  Ep.  Ind.,  vi,  copperplate  (Ep.  Ind.,  iv,  252). 

240).     Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji  places  the  »  The  term  j a i/askandhdvdra  does 

accession  of  Gopala  forty  or  fifty  not  necessarily  mean  a  camp  only 

years  later,  but  I  am  not  satisfied  (D.  R.  Bhandarkarl. 

that  he  is  right.  *  Watters,  ii,  87,  88  ;  Beal,  ii,  82, 

*  Bhagaipur    copperplate    (Ind.  86. 


DEVAPALA  399 

included  107  temples  and  six  colleges,  was  founded  by 
Dharinapala.  It  stood  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  right  bank 
of  the  Ganges,  but  its  position  has  not  been  conclusively 
determined.^ 

Devapala,  the  third  sovereign  of  the  dynasty,  is  regarded  Devapala, 
by  the  oldest  writers  on  Brahman  genealogy  in  Bengal  as  "e"turv 
having  been  the  most  powerful  of  the  Palas.^  His  general, 
Lausena,  is  said  to  have  conquered  Assam  and  Kalinga. 
A  grant  dated  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  his  reign  was  issued 
from  the  court  at  Mudgagiri,  or  Monghyr.^  Like  all  the 
other  kings  of  his  house,  he  was  zealous  in  the  cause  of 
Buddhism,  and  is  reputed  to  have  waged  war  with  tiie 
unbelievers,  destroying  forty  of  their  strongholds.  He  is 
said  to  have  reigned  for  forty-eight  years.* 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  tenth  century  the  rule  of  the  The 
Pala   kings   was   interrupted   by  the  intrusion  of   hillmen,  rule, 
known  as  Kambojas,  who  set  up  one  of  their  chiefs  as  king. 
His  rule  is  commemorated  by  an  inscribed  pillar  at  Dinajpur, 
erected  apparently  in  a.d.  966.' 

The  Kambojas  were  expelled  by  Mahipala  I,  the  ninth  Mahi- 
sovereign   of   the  Pala  line,  who  is   known  to   have   been  (..  a.  d! 
reigning  in  a.  d.  1026,  and  may  be  assumed  to  have  won  back  9^8-1030. 
his  ancestral  throne  about  a.d.  978  or  980.    He  is  credited  with 
a  long  reign  of  52  years,  a  statement  which  cannot  be  far 
wrong,  as  there  is  epigraphic  evidence  that  his  rule  endured  for 
48  years. "^     Of  all  the  Pala  kings  he  is  the  best  remembered, 
and  songs  in  his  honour,  which  used  to  be  sung  in  many  parts 
of  Bengal  until  recent  times,  are  still  to  be  heard  in  remote 

^  The  site  may  be  at  Patharghata  The  date  is  888,  which,  if  referred 

in  the  Bhagalpur   District   (/.   c*}-  to  the  Saka  era,  is  equivalent  to 

Proc.  A.  8.  B.,  1909,  pp.  1-13).  a.  d.  966, 

*  /.  A.  S.  B.,  vol.  Ixiii,  part  i  "  Sarnath  inscription  of  1083 
(1894),  p.  41.  (v.  E.)  in  Ind.  Ant.,  xiv,  140.    Two 

*  Ind.  Ant.,  xxi,  254.  groups  of  bronze  figures  found  in 

*  Schiefner,  Tdranclth,Tpp.208-U.  the  Mn/affarpur  District  of  Tirhut 
Taranath  adds  that  Devapala  sub-  or  North  Bihar  bear  inscriptions 
dued  Varendra,  i.e.  the  Malda  dated  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of 
District,  &c.,  which  is  hard  to  Mahipala  (Hoernle  in  Ind,  Ant., 
understand,  for  that  province  ap-  xiv   (1885),  p.   165,  note  17.     The 

farently    must   have   been    under  readings  in  Proc. -<4.  S.  5.,  1881,  p. 

'ala  rule  earlier.  98,   are  imaginary.      Cunningham 

^  'Dinajpur    Pillar    Inscription'  quoted  the  date  correctly  in  A.  S. 

{J.  4-  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  1911,  p.  615),  lUp.,  xv,  153). 


400 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 


The 

Kaivarta 

rebellion. 


Reign  of 

Raraa- 

pala, 

C.   A.  D. 

1084-1130. 


corners  of  Orissa  and  Kuch  Bihar.  He  was  attacked  by 
Rajendra^  tlie  Chola  king  of  Kanchi^  about  a.d.  1023.  His 
reign  is  marked  by  the  revival  of  Buddhism  in  Tibet,  which 
had  been  weakened  by  the  persecution  of  Langdarma  a 
century  earlier.  Pundit  Dharmapala  and  other  holy  men 
from  Magadha  accepted  an  invitation  to  Tibet  in  a.d.  1013, 
and  did  much  to  restore  the  religion  of  Gautama  to  honour 
in  that  country.  A  subsequent  mission  dispatched  in  1040 
or  1042,  during  the  reign  of  Mahipala's  successor,  Nayapala, 
and  headed  by  Atisa,  from  the  Vikramasila  monastery  in 
Magadha,  continued  the  work  and  firmly  re-established 
Tibetan  Buddhism.^ 

The  son  of  Nayapala,  king  Vigrahapala  HI,  who  defeated 
Kama,  king  of  Chedi,  and  died  about  a.d.  1080,  left  three 
sons,  namely  Mahipala  II,  Surapala  II,  and  Ramapala. 
When  Mahipala  succeeded  to  the  throne  he  imprisoned  his 
brothers  and  misgoverned  the  realm.  His  evil  deeds  pro- 
voked a  rebellion,  headed  by  Divya  or  Divyoka,  chief  of  the 
Chasi-Kaivarta  tribe  (Kewat  caste),  which  at  that  time  was 
powerful  in  Northern  Bengal.  Mahipala  II  was  killed  by 
the  rebels,  who  took  possession  of  the  country.  Divyoka's 
place  was  taken  by  his  nephew  Bhima,  who  became  king  of 
Varendra.  Prince  Ramapala,  having  escaped  from  confine- 
ment, travelled  over  a  large  part  of  India  in  order  to  obtain  help 
in  the  recovery  of  his  kingdom.  After  much  effort  he  collected 
a  strong  force,  including  contingents  from  the  Rashtrakiitas, 
to  whom  he  was  related  by  marriage,  and  many  other 
princes.  Bhima  was  defeated  and  killed,  and  Ramapala 
regained  the  throne  of  his  fathers.^ 

Ramapala  is  described  by  Taranath  as  possessing  a  vigorous 
understanding  and  widely  extended  power.  After  defeating 
the  Kaivarta  usurper,  he  conquered  Mitiiila  or  North  Bihar, 


1  Sarat  Chandra  Das  {J.  A.S.B., 
vol.  i,  part  i,  pp.  236,  237).  Tara- 
nath says  that  the  date  of  Mahi- 
pala's death  coincided  approximate- 
ly with  that  of  the  Tibetan  king, 
Khriral,  whom  I  cannot  trace  in  the 
lists  {Schiefner,  p.  225).  For  the 
chronology,  see  J.  A.  8.  B.,  vol, 
Ixix,  part  i  (1900),  p.  192. 


*  The  killing  of  Bhiraa  and  the 
conquest  of  Mithila  are  recorded 
in  the  Kamauli  grant  of  Vaidyadeva 
{Ep.  hid.,  ii.  355).  The  details 
are  supplied  by  the  contemporary 
historical  poem  entitled  Rdmacharita, 
by  Sandhyakara  Nandi,  discovered 
in  Nepal  and  published  in  ^.  S.  B. 
Memoirs,  vol.  iii,  No.  1  (1910). 


LATEST   PAL.V    KINGS  401 

the  modern  Champaran  aiul  Darblianga  Districts,  and  it  is 
clear  that  his  dominions  also  included  Kamarfipa  or  Assam, 
because  his  son  Kuniilrapala  conferred  the  jjovernment  of  that 
country,  with  kingly  powers,  upon  a  valiant  minister  named 
Vaidyadeva.  Buddhism,  although  then  declining  in  Hindu- 
stan, flourished  in  the  Pala  dominions  during  the  reign  of 
Ramapala,  the  monasteries  of  Magadha  being  crowded  with 
thousands  of  residents.  Taranath  and  certain  Bengal  authors 
treat  Ramapala  as  the  last  of  his  dynasty,  or  at  any  rate,  the 
hist  who  exercised  considerable  power,  but  the  inscriptions 
prove  that  he  was  followed  by  five  kings  of  his  family.^ 

King  Govindapala  is  known  to  have  been  on  the  throne  Latest 
in   A.  D.    1175;     and,   according  to  tradition,   the    ruler   of  ^{,,^5 
Magadha  at   the   time  of  the    Muhammadan    conquest,   in 
A.  D.  1197,  was  Indradyumna[-prila].   Forts  attributed  to  him 
are  still  pointed  out  in  the  Mungir  (Monghyr)  District.'-^ 

The  Pala  dynasty  deserves  remembrance  as  one  of   the  Impor- 
.  .         tance 

most  remarkable  of  Indian  dynasties.     No  other  royal  line,  of  the 

save  that  of  the   Andhras,  endured   so   lonff,  for  four  and  ^^^^ 

.     dynasty, 
a  half  centuries.     Dharmapiila  and  Devapala   succeeded   in 

making    Bengal   one   of   the   great   powers  of   India,  and, 

although  later  kings  had  not  the  control  of  realms  so  wide  or 

possessed  influence  so  extensive,  their  dominion  was  far  from 

being  contemptible.     The  Pala  authority  was  considerably 

shaken  by  the  Kamboja  usurpation  in  the  latter  part  of  the 

'  J.  A.  S.  B.,  part  i,  vol.  Ixiii  I  have  not  seen  these  works.  The 
(1894.%  p,  46 ;  vol.  xli  (1882),  p.  16 ;  Society  has  sent  me  three  English 
Schiefner,  transl.  Taranath,  p.  250.  pamphlets,  two  entitled  The  Stones 
The  main  outline  of  the  chronology  of  Varendra,  and  a  third,  entitled 
has  been  firmly  laid  on  the  basis  Guide-book  to  an  exhibition  of  anti- 
of  thirty-two  inscriptions  in  the  quities,  held  at  Rajshahi  in  1912, 
author's  paper,  '  The  Pala  Dynasty  which  have  been  useful.  Mr.  II.  D. 
of  Bengal'  {Ind.  Ant.,  1909,  pp.  Banerji  has  kindly  sent  me  a  proof 
233-48).  The  most  important  in-  of  his  elaborate  article  on  the  Palas 
scription,  published  later,  is  the  re-  which  is  to  appear  in  the  Memoirs, 
cord  on  the  Dinajpur  Pillar,  cited  A.  S.  B.,  for  1913.  Thethree  in- 
above.  The  Varendra  Research  scriptions  of  Mahendrapala  seem 
Society  of  Rajshahi  is  devoting  to  belong  to  the  Gurjara-Parihar 
much  attention  to  early  Bengal  king  of  that  name,  and  not  to  his 
history.  The  Hon.  Sec.  has  pub-  Pala  namesake,  as  I  and  others  had 
lished  in  Bengali  a  monograph  on  the  supposed. 

Pala  and  Sena  Dynasties,  and  the  ^  Buchanan,   Ecuitern  India,   ii. 

Director  (Babu  Akshaykumar  Mi-  23;  Cunningham,  Rep.,  iii,135, 159, 

tra,  B.  L.)  has  published  a  volume  of  162. 
inscriptions  in  the  same  language. 

1626  D  d 


402 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 


Intellec- 
tual and 
artistic 
activity. 


Patronage 
of  Bud- 
dhism. 


The 

beginning 
of  the 
Senas. 


tenth  century,  and  again  by  the  Kaivarta  revolt  in  the 
eleventh  century,  which  prepared  the  way  for  the  encroach- 
ments made  by  the  Sena  kings.  The  Palas  seem  to  have 
hekl  Magadha  or  South  Biliar,  and  Mungir  in  North  Bihar, 
ahiiost  throughout  to  the  end,  with  little  interruption,  but 
during  the  last  century  of  their  rule  they  lost  nearly  the 
whole  of  Bengal  to  the  Senas. ^  The  details  of  the  local 
history  need  to  be  worked  out. 

The  reigns  of  Dharmapala  and  Devapala,  extending  over 
more  than  a  century,  from  about  a.d.  780  to  892,  were 
a  period  of  marked  intellectual  and  artistic  activity.  Two 
artists  of  that  time,  Dhiman  and  his  son  Bitpalo  (Vitapala), 
acquired  tiie  highest  fame  for  their  skill  as  painters, 
sculptors,  and  bronze-founders.  Some  works  of  their  school 
are  believed  to  be  extant.^  No  building  of  Pala  age  appears 
to  survive,  but  the  numerous  great  tanks  in  the  central 
districts  of  their  territory,  especially  in  Dinajpur,  testify  to 
the  interest  taken  by  the  kings  in  the  execution  of  under- 
takings intended  for  the  public  benefit. 

All  the  Pala  kings  without  exception  were  zealous 
Buddhists,  ready  to  bestow  liberal  patronage  on  learned 
teachers  and  the  numerous  monastic  communities.  Dharma- 
pala, clearly  a  man  of  exceptional  capacity,  is  credited  with 
the  merit  of  having  been  an  ardent  reformer  of  religion.  His 
successors  in  the  eleventh  century,  who  were  devoted  to 
Tantric  forms  of  Buddhism,  enjoyed  the  services  of  many 
pious  men,  among  whom  Atisa,  already  mentioned  as 
a  missionary  in  Tibet,  was  the  most  eminent.^ 

About  the  time  of  the  Kaivarta  rebellion  (c.  a.  d.  1080), 
or  a  few  years  later,  Choraganga,  the  powerful  king  of 
Kalinga  (ace.  1076),  extended  his  conquests  to  the  extreme 
north  of  Orissa.     Either  a  chief  named  Samantadeva,  who 

'  Mahendrapala  Gurjara-Prati- 
hara  of  Kanauj  (c.  a.  d.  850)  seems 
to  have  annexed  Magadha  for  a  few 
years. 

^  I  lilt  or ji  of  Fins  Art  in  India 
and  Cei/lon,  pp.  30.5-7.  The  Va- 
rendra  Research  Society  at  Raj- 
shahi  is  devoting  special  study  to 
the  schools  of  Dhlraan  and  Bitpalo. 


^  See  the  learned  Introduction 
by  Maha.  Haraprasad  Shastri  to 
Mr.  N.  N.  Vasu's  work  on  Modern 
Buddhism  and  its  Followers  in 
Orissa,  Calcutta,  1911,  which  is 
in  part  a  reprint  from  the  Archaeo- 
logical Survey  of  Mayurabhanja, 
vol.  i. 


RISK   OF   THE   SENA   DYNASTY  403 

came  from  the  Deccan,  and  probably  was  ai)  officer  of 
Choraganga,  or  Samaiitadeva's  son  Hemantasena,  founded 
a  principality  at  Kaslpurl,  now  Kasiarl  in  the  Mayurabiianja 
State.  Neither  of  those  chiefs  seems  to  have  acquired 
extensive  power. 

But  Samantasena's  grandson,  Vijayasena,  certaiidy  raised  Vijaya- 
himself  to  the  rank  of  an  independent  sovereign  early  in  the  "?p"^  „ 
twelfth  century  (?a.d.  1119),  and  wrested  a  large  part  of  m^- 
the  Bengal  province  from  the  Falas,  thus  firmly  establishing  ' 
the  Sena  dynasty.     He  also  carried  on  successful  wars  with 
other  powers,  and  enjoyed  a  long  reign  of  about  forty  years, 
more  or  less.     He  kept  on  terms  of  friendship  with  Chora- 
ganga  of  Kalinga,  who   ruled  that  kingdom  for  the  extra- 
ordinary term  of  seventy-one  years. 

The  dominions  acquired  by  Vijayasena  were  transmitted  Vallala- 

{c.  A.D.    1158)   to    his  son   Vallalasena,  famous  in    Bengal  gai^jj'gen 

tradition    as    Balh'il   Sen,   who   is   credited   with   having  re-  (''•  i^''^- 

.  TO). 

organized  the  caste  system  and  introduced  the  practice  of 
'  Kulinism '  among  Brahmans,  Baidyas,  and  Kayasths. 
Some  accounts  allege  that  he  founded  Gaur  or  Lakhnauti, 
but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  city  was  in  existence 
at  an  earlier  date.  The  site  of  a  palace  attributed  to  him 
is  pointed  out  at  Rampal  near  Bikrampur  in  the  Dacca 
District.^  All  the  Sena  kings  were  Brahmanical  Hindus,  and 
so  had  a  special  reason  for  hostility  to  the  Buddhist  Palas, 
and  a  keen  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  caste.  The 
Hinduism  of  Ballal  Sen  was  of  the  Tantric  kind.  The 
Brahman  genealogists  assert  that  he  sent  numerous  mission- 
aries, all  Brahmans,  to  Magadha,  Bhotan,  Chittagong,  Arakan, 
Orissa,  and  Nepal.^ 

Ballal  Sen  was  succeeded,  probably  about  a.d.  1170,  by  Laksh- 
his  son  Lakshmanasena,  the  Rai  Lakhmaniva  of  the  Muham-  !"^?f!^"* 

(c.  1170- 

madan  chronicler.  1200). 

^  /.  A.  S.  B.,   part   i,    vol.    xlvii  them  '  (Introd.  p.  15  to  N.  N.  Vasu, 

(1878),    p.    400;    Imp.    Gaz.,   s.  v.  Modern  Bxiddhism  and  its  FoUoipers 

Rampal.       According     to     Maha.  in    Orissa^.      See    also    the    same 

Haraprasad    Shastri,     Ballal    Sen  writer  in  iVwc.  A.  S.  B.,  1902,  pp. 

♦conquered  Northern  Bengal  with  2-7. 

the  help  of  the  Kaivartas,  and  tried  '  Arch.  S.  Mayurabhanja,  vol.  i, 

his  best  to  make  a  clean  caste  of  p.  Ixiv,  note. 

D  d  2 


404         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

Muhain-  III  Bihar  and  Bengal  both  Palas  and  Senas  were  swept 
conouest  '^^^''^V  ''}'  ^hc  torrent  of  Muhammadan  invasion  at  the  end  of 
of  Bihar,  the  twelfth  century,  when  Kutb-ud-din's  general,  Muhammad 
the  son  of  Bakhtyar,  stormed  Bihar  in  or  about  a.d.  1197, 
and  surprised  Nudiah  {rulgo  Nuddea)  a  year  or  two  later. 
The  Musalman  general,  who  had  already  made  his  name 
a  terror  by  repeated  plundering  expeditions  in  Bihar,  seized 
the  capital  by  a  daring  stroke.  The  almost  contemporary 
historian  met  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  attacking  party  in 
A.D.  1243,  and  learned  from  him  that  the  fort  of  Bihar  was 
seized  by  a  party  of  only  two  hundred  horsemen,  who  boldly 
rushed  the  postern  gate  and  gained  possession  of  the  place. 
Great  (juantities  of  plunder  were  obtained,  and  the  slaughter 
of  the  ^shaven-headed  Brahmans',  that  is  to  say  the  Buddhist 
monks,  was  so  thoroughly  completed,  that  when  the  victor 
sought  for  some  one  capable  of  explaining  the  contents  of 
the  books  in  the  libraries  of  the  monasteries,  not  a  living 
man  could  be  found  who  was  able  to  read  them.  *It  was 
discovered ',  we  are  told,  '  that  the  whole  of  that  fortress  and 
city  was  a  college,  and  in  the  Hindi  tongue  they  call 
a  college  Bihar.^  ^ 
Destruc-  This  crushing  blow,  followed  up,  of  course,  by  similar  acts 
Buddhism.  ^^  violence,  destroyed  the  vitality  of  Buddhism  in  its  ancient 
home.  No  doubt,  a  few  devout,  though  disheartened,  adhe- 
rents of  the  system  lingered  round  the  desecrated  shrines 
for  a  few  years  longer;  and  even  to  this  day  traces  of  the 
religion  once  so  proudly  dominant  may  be  discerned  in  the 
practices  of  obscure  sects;  but  Buddiiism  as  an  organized 
religion  in  Bihar,  its  last  abode  in  Upper  India  south  of  the 
Himalaya,  was  destroyed  once  and  for  all  by  the  sword  of 
a  single  Musalman  adventurer.^  Many  monks  who  escaped 
death  fled  to  Tibet,  Nepal,  and  Southern  India.  The  arrival 
of  the  learned  refugees  in  Tibet  enabled  Buton,  the  Grand 

^  Raverty,      transl.      Tahakdt-i-  the  LalUavlsfara' (J.  A.  S.  B.,  vol. 

NdxirJ,  p.  552.  Ixiv,  part  i,  1895,  pp.  55-68j ;  and 

*  See   papers   by   H.  P.   (^astri,  N.  N.  Vasu's  work,  Modern  Bud- 

'  Buddiiism    in    Bengal    since    the  dliism  and  its  Follotoers  in  Orissa, 

Muhammadan    Conquest';     '  C'rJ-  already  cited. 
dharma  matujala  ;  a  distant  echo  of 


FALL    OF  THE   SENA  DYNASTY  405 

Lama   appointed   by   Kublai   Klwiii,   to   enrich   the  Tibetan 

hinguage  by  translations  from  Sanskrit  sources,  which  were 

included  in  the  Tangyur  encyclopaedia  at  the  close  of  the 

thirteenth  century.     The   preservation   of  the   fruits   of  the 

joint  labours  of  the  Indian  Pundits  and  the  Tibetan  Lamas 

was   secured   by  the   practice  of  the   art  of  block-printing, 

M'hich  had  been  introduced  into  Tibet  from  China   in   the 

seventh  century.^ 

The   overthrow   of   the   Sena    dynasty  was    accomplished  a. d.?I199. 

Overthrow 
with  c(jual,  or  even  greater  ease.    The  ruler  of  eastern  Bengal  of  tiu; 

in  those  days  was  Lakshmanasena,  described  by  the  Muham-  ^^"* 

/  1  dynasty. 

madan  writer  as  an  aged  man  and  reputed,  though  erro- 
neously, to  have  occupied  the  throne  for  eighty  years.^  The 
portents  which  were  said  to  have  attended  his  birtii  had  been 
justified  by  the  monarch's  exceptional  personal  qualities. 
His  family,  we  are  told,  was  respected  by  all  the  Kuis  or 
chiefs  of  Hindustan,  and  he  was  considered  to  hold  the  rank 
of  hereditary  Khalif  (Caliph),  or  spiritual  head  of  the  country. 
Trustworthy  persons  affirmed  that  no  one,  great  or  small, 
ever  suffered  injustice  at  his  hands,  and  his  generosity  was 
proverbial. 

This   much-revered  sovereign    held  his  court  at  Nudiiih,  Nndiah, 
situated  in  the  upper  delta  of  the  Ganges,  on  the  Bhagirathi  ^^.^pitai. 
river,  about  60  miles  north  of  the  site  of  Calcutta.     The  town 
still  gives  its  name  to  a  British  district  (Nuddea,  Nadia),  and 
is  renowned  as  the  seat  of  a  Hindu  college  organized  after  the 
ancient  manner. 

Probably  in  a.d.  1199,  not  long  after  his  facile  conquest  of  Capture  of 
^  „         ,  ,  ,  Nudlali, 

Bihar,  Muhammad  the  son  of  Bakhtyar  equipped  an  army  ^.i,.  1199. 

for  the  subjugation  of  Bengal.     Riding  in  advance  of  the  main 

body  of  his  troops,  he  suddenly  appeared  before  Niidiah  with 

a  slender  following  of  eighteen  horsemen,  and  boldly  entered 

the  city,  the  people  supposing  him  to  be  a  horsedealer.     But 

1  /.  4  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  Feb.  1911,  may  have  been  elderly  when  he 
Address,  p.  xliii.  came  to  the  throne,  at  the  dose  of 

2  Lakshmanasena.  although  he  Vijayasena's  long  reign.  Lakshraa- 
had  not  reigned  for  eighty  years  nasena  apparently  did  not  succeed 
in  A.D.  1199,  may  then  have  been  to  the  throne  until  he  was  adult 
an  old  man.    His  father,  Ballal  Sen,  {Ind.  Ant.,  1913,  p.  187). 


406        THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

when  he  reached  the  gate  of  the  Rai's  palace,  he  drew  his 
sword  and  attacked  the  unsuspecting  househoki.  The  Rai, 
mIu)  was  at  liis  diinier,  was  completely  taken  by  surprise, 

'  and  fled  barefooted  by  the  rear  of  the  palace ;  and  his 
whole  treasure,  and  all  his  wives,  maidservants,  attendants, 
and  women  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  invader.  Numerous 
elephants  were  taken,  and  such  booty  was  obtained  by  the 
Muhammadans  as  is  beyond  all  compute.  When  his  (Mu- 
hammad's) army  arrived,  the  whole  city  was  brought  under 
subjection,  and  he  fixed  Ids  head-quarters  there.^ 

Lakh-  Rai  Lakhmaniya,  as  the  author  calls  him,  fled  to  Bikrampur 

nauh,  the  j^^   ^j^^  Dacca  district,*  where  he  died ;    and  the  conqueror 
niadan        presently  destroyed  the  city  of  Nfidiah,  establishing  the  seat 
f  api  a  .       ^^£  j^j^  government  at  the  ancient  Hindu  city  of  Lakhnauti,  or 
Gaur.     Mosques,  colleges,   and    Muhammadan   monasteries 
Avere  endowed  by  him  and  his  officers  in  all  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, and  a  great  portion  of  the  spoil  was  judiciously  sent  to 
his  distant  chief,  Kutb-ud-din. 
Dishon-  Such  was  the  dishonoured  end  of  the  last  Hindu  kingdoms 

of  the  ^°     ®^  Bengal  and  Bihar,  which  would  have  made  a  better  fight 
Hindu        for  life  if  they  had  deserved  to  exist.^     The  administration 
■  of  Lakshmanasena  must  have  been  hopelessly  inefficient  to 
permit  a  foreign  army  to  marcli  unobserved  across  Bengal, 
and  to  allow  of  the  surprise  of  the  palace  by  an  insignificant 
party  of  eighteen  horsemen. 
Litera-  However  feeble  may  have  been  the  military  power  of  the 

last  Sena  king,  he  deserves  credit  for  his  personal  virtues, 
and  for  his  liberal  patronage  of  Sanskrit  literature.  An 
imitation  of  Kalidfisa's  Meyhaduta  by  Dhoyi,  or  Dhoyika, 
court-poet  of  Lakshmanasena,  has  been  published.  Jayadeva, 
the  famous  author  of  the  Gitagovinda,  seems  to  iiave  lived  in 

^  Raverty,      transl.       Tahakdt-i-  discussed  in  App.  O,  but  the  chro- 

NdslrJ,  p.   557  ;    Elliot,    Jlwf.     of  nolojry   is   not   yet  finally  settled. 

India,  ii,  309.  The    "chief    difficulty    lies    in    the 

^  The  Senas  continued    to  exist  determination   of  the  duration   of 

as  a  local  dynasty  in  Eastern  Ben-  Ballal    Sen's    reign.      For    minor 

gal  subordinate  to  the  Muhamma-  dynasties  not  noticed  in  this  work, 

dans  for  four  generations  after  the  see  Duff,  Th^  Clironology  of  India, 

capture  of  Nudlah.    The  authorities  Constable,  1899. 
for  the  history  of  the  dynasty  are 


ture 


THE   RAJPUT   CLANS  407 

the  reign  of  Lakshmanasena,  who  wrote  verses  liiniself.     His 
father,  Ballal  Sen,  also  was  an  author. 

IX 

The  Rajput  Clans 

Ethnological  speculations,  or  discussions  about  facial  angles,  Apparent 
thick  or  thin  noses,  long  skulls  or  broad  skulls,  the  mystery  of  the 
of  the  origin  of  caste,  and  so  forth,  are  foreign  to  the  purpose  ^lans. 
of  this  work,  and  cannot  be  even  lightly  handled  in  these 
pages.'  But  the  narrative  sections  of  this  chapter  dealing 
with  the  political  fortunes  of  many  Rajput  clans  can  hardly 
fail  to  suggest  to  the  tiioughtful  reader  inquiries  which  seem 
to  demand  with  urgency  some  sort  of  answer.  Who  were 
these  Rajputs — Parihars,  Pawars,  Chandels,  and  the  rest — and 
why  do  they  and  their  affairs  make  such  a  confused  stir 
during  the  centuries  intervening  between  the  death  of  Harsha 
and  the  Muhammadan  conquest?  The  dominance  of  the 
Rajput  clans  is  at  first  sight  the  conspicuous  fact  differen- 
tiating the  mediaeval  from  the  ancient  period  in  the  history  of 
Northern  India,  and  the  mind  craves  for  an  explanation.  It 
is  proverbially  easier  to  ask  questions  than  to  answer  them, 
and  in  this  case  the  facts  are  far  too  complex  and  imperfectly 
known  to  admit  of  concise  satisfactory  explanations.  Still  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  make  a  few  observations  on  the  subject, 
designed  to  help  the  weary  reader  in  his  endeavour  to  find 
some  sort  of  clue  to  guide  him  through  the  maze  of  dynasties. 

The  apparently  sudden  introduction  of  Rajput  states  on  Kshatri- 
the  stage  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  is  in  part  an  ^^^' 
illusion.  Hardly  anything  is  known  about  the  caste  or  tribal 
position  of  the  ancient  ruling  families.  Nobody  can  tell 
exactly  the  rank  of  Hindu  society  to  which  the  family  of 
Asoka  or  Samudragupta  belonged,  and  nothing  is  on  record 
to  indicate  how  far  the  kings  whose  names  appear  prominently 
on  the  scene  were  merely  successful  personal  adventurers  or 

*  See  Risley  and  Gait,  Census  of  Outlines  of  Panjab  Ethnography  Aio, 

India,  1901,  vol.  i;    Rose,  Census  Calcutta,  188S  ;  and  Baden-Powell, 

Report  for  the  Panjdh,  1901  ;    the  JVotes  .  .  .  on  the  licijput  Clans,  ./. 

other    Census    Reports;    Ibbetson,  72.  ^.  iS'.,  1899,  pp.  333-63. 


408         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

how  far  tliey  were  the  lieads  of  domhmnt  clans.  In  hiter  times 
all  Rajputs  have  considered  themselves  to  be  Kshatrij'as — 
members  of  the  second  of  the  four  groups  of  castes  accord- 
ing to  tlie  familiar  Brahman  theory.^  So  far  back  as  the 
time  when  the  Dialogues  of  the  Buddha  were  composed  the 
Kshatriyas  were  recognized  as  an  important  element  in  society, 
and  in  their  own  estimation  stood  higher  than  the  Brahmans/'' 
The  fact  prol)ably  is  that  from  very  remote  days  ruling  clans 
of  Kshatriyas,  essentially  similar  to  the  Rajputs  of  later  days, 
existed  and  were  continually  forming  new  states,  just  in  the 
same  way  as  in  the  mediaeval  period.  But  their  records  have 
perished,  and  only  a  few  exceptionally  conspicuous  dynasties 
are  at  all  remembered,  and  so  stand  out  on  the  page  of  history 
in  a  manner  that  does  not  fully  represent  the  truth.  The 
term  Kshatriya  was,  I  believe,  always  one  of  very  vague 
meaning,  simply  denoting  the  Hindu  ruling  classes  which  did 
not  claim  Brahman  descent.  Occasionally  a  raja  might  be 
a  Brahman  by  caste,  but  the  Brahman's  natural  place  at 
court  was  that  of  minister  rather  than  that  of  king.^  Chandra- 
gupta  Maurya  presumably  was  considered  to  be  a  Kshatriya 
— his  minister  Chanakya  or  Kautilya  certainly  was  a  Brahman. 
Break  in  The  real  difference  between  the  ancient  and  mediaeval 
periods  is  that  the  living  tradition  concerning  the  former 
has  been  broken,  while  that  concerning  the  latter  survives. 
The  Mauryas  and  Guptas  belong  to  a  dead  and  buried  past, 
remembered  only  through  books,  inscriptions,  and  coins, 
whereas  the  clans  whose  ruling  families  came  into  notice 
during  the  mediaeval  period  are  still  very  much  alive,  and  in 
numy  cases  form  numerous  and  influential  sections  of  the 
existing  population. 

'  The  four  varnas  of  the  theory  Ilvitoiy  of  Caste  in  India,  esp.  vol.  i 

are  IJrahmans,  Kshatriyas,  Vai^yas,  (1909),  p.  77.     Vol.  ii  appeared  in 

and  Sudras.    The  Brahmans  appear  1911. 

to  be  as  much  mixed  in  blood  as  *  Rhys  Davids,  Dialogues  of  the 

the  Rajputs.     The  Vaisyas  are  a  Jinddha  (1899),  pp.  j9,  119;  J.  R. 

very  indefinite  group,  and  Madras,  A.  S.  (1894),  p.  342. 

as  such,  are  hardly  recognized  in  *  Hiuen  Tsang  mentions  several 

Northern  India,     f'or  the  true  ex-  Brahman    rajas,    e.g.    of    Ujjain, 

planation  of  varua  as  meaning  '  a  Jijhoti,  and  Mahe^varapura  (Beal, 

group   of  (-astes    (./«^')\   and    not  ii,  270,  271).    See  the  explanation  of 

'  a    caste  ',    see    Ketkar's    valuable  Jirahmakshatra  in  App.  C)  iiost. 


tradition. 


DESCENT   FROM    FOREIGN   INVADERS     409 

Tod    and    the    other    older    writers    perceived    loiii'    ut^o  The 
1  i-r..  ,  ••  pp'  'Scythian 

that   the  Rajput  chms  are  in  large  part  oi  loreign,  or,  as  clement. 

they  called  it,  '  Scythian '  descent.  The  more  exact  re- 
searches of  recent  times  have  fully  confirmed  this  opinion, 
and  it  is  now  possible  to  indicate  with  a  considerable  degree 
of  precision  the  source  of  the  foreign  blood  in  several  of  the 
principal  clans,  and  at  the  same  time  to  recogni/e  the  close- 
ness of  their  relationship  with  castes  which  occupy  a  social 
position  lower  than  that  of  the  Rfijputs. 

The  earliest  foreign  immigration  within  the  limits  of  the  Tlie  Sakas 
historical  period  which  can  be  verified  is  that  of  the  Sakas  in  ^.j^j 
the  second  century  B.C.  {ante,  pp.  226,  249)  ;  and  the  next  is 
that  of  the  Yueh-chi  or  Kushans  in  the  first  century  after 
Christ  {ante,  p.  252).  Probably  none  of  the  existing  Rajput 
clans  can  carry  back  their  genuine  pedigrees  nearly  so  far. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  ruling  families  of  both  the  Sakas 
and  the  Kushans  when  they  became  Hinduized  were  admitted 
to  rank  as  Kshatriyas  in  the  Hindu  caste  system,  but  the 
fact  can  be  inferred  only  from  the  analogy  of  what  is  ascer- 
tained to  have  happened  in  later  ages — it  cannot  be  proved. 

The  third  recorded  great  irruption  of  foreign  barbarians  The 
occurred  during  the  fifth  century  and  the  early  part  of  the 
sixth.  There  are  indications  that  the  innuigration  from 
Central  Asia  had  continued  during  the  third  century  {ante, 
p.  273),  but,  if  it  did,  no  distinct  record  of  the  event  has 
been  preserved,  and,  so  far  as  positive  knowledge  goes,  only 
three  certain  irruptions  of  foreigners  on  a  large  scale  through 
the  northern  and  north-western  passes  can  be  proved  to  have 
taken  place  within  the  historical  period  anterior  to  the 
Muhammadan  invasions  of  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries. 
The  first  and  second,  as  above  observed,  were  those  of  the 
Sakas  and  Yueh-chi  respectively,  and  the  third  was  that 
of  the  Hunas,  or  White  Huns.  These  names,  Saka,  Yueh- 
chi,  and  Huna,  merely  indicate  the  predominant  elements  in 
the  in\'ading  swarms,  which  included  many  various  races. 
The  tradition  of  descent  from  the  first  and  second  swarms 
has  been  lost  for  ages.  The  Turk!  Shahiya  kings  of  Kabul, 
who   were   displaced   by  the  Hindu  Shahiyas  in  the  ninth 


invasions. 


410         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 

centuiy,  boasted  their  descent  from  the  great  Kushan  king, 
Kanislika,  but  I  do  not  know  of  any  later  claim  on  the  part 
of  an  Indian  ruling  family  to  relationship  with  the  Yueh-chi. 
Effects  of  The  break  in  tradition  seems  to  be  due  in  large  measure 
to  the  far-reaching  effects  of  the  third  barbarian  irruption, 
to  M'hich  the  name  of  Huna  is  given.  The  meagre  literary 
record  of  the  Hun  invasion  is  supplemented  by  so  many 
miscellaneous  observations  in  the  domains  of  ethnologj', 
archaeology^  and  numismatics,  that  a  strong  impression  is 
produced  on  the  mind  of  the  student  that  the  Hun  invasions 
disturbed  Hindu  institutions  and  polity  much  more  deeply 
than  would  be  supposed  from  perusal  of  the  Purdnas, 
and  other  literary  works.  The  Hindu  writers  display  great 
unwillingness  to  dwell  upon  '  barbarian '  invasions,  uniting 
in  *a  conspiracy  of  silence'.  They  never  allude  to  the 
existence  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  the  Gujarat  historians 
similarly  ignore  the  sack  of  Somnath  by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni.^ 
If  Muhammadan  authors  had  not  related  in  detail  the  story 
of  that  famous  raid,  no  record  of  it  would  have  been  found 
in  Indian  literature  or  inscriptions.  There  is,  therefore, 
no  reason  for  surprise  that  the  Hindu  record  of  the  Hun 
deluge  is  meagre,  and  that  recognition  of  its  importance 
has  had  to  be  won  laboriously  by  the  patient  researches 
of  modern  archaeologists.  It  is  impossible  to  set  forth  the 
complicated  evidence  in  this  place,  and  the  reader  must  be 
asked  to  accept  the  assertion  that  the  series  of  invasions 
by  the  Huns  and  associated  foreign  tribes  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  centuries  shook  Indian  society  in  Northern  India  to 
its  foundations,  severed  the  chain  of  tradition,  and  brought 
about  a  rearrangement  of  both  castes  and  ruling  families. 
The  effects  of  the  Hun  cataclysm  are  obscured  partially 
by  the  brilliant  achievement  of  Harsha  in  establishing  for 
thirty-five  years  (612-47)  a  strong  paramount  power  able 
to  control  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  various  races,  clans, 
and    creeds    subject    to    his    temporary    sway.^     When    his 

•  Horn.  Gaz.,  vol.  i,  part  i  (1896),       but    his    paramount    power   dates 
p.  Hit,  note  5.  from  613  a.  d.  and  continued  until 

'  Harsiia's   reign   began   in   60fi,       his  death  in  64-7. 


THE  GURJARAS  411 

heavy  hand  was  removed  all  those  elements  broke  loose,  and, 
after  a  period  of  unrecorded  anarchy,  produced  in  the  domain 
of  politics  the  new  grouping  of  states  described  in  its  leading 
features  in  this  chapter. 

It  seems  to  be  clearly  established  that  the  Hun  grou])  jhe 
of  tribes  or  hordes  made  their  principal  permanent  settlements  t»ur)aras. 
in  Rajputana  and  the  Panjab.  The  most  important  element 
in  the  group,  after  the  Huns  themselves,  was  that  of  the 
Gurjaras,  whose  name  still  survives  in  the  spoken  form  Gujar 
as  the  designation  of  a  widely  diffused  middle-class  caste 
in  North- Western  India.  The  Giijars,  primarily  a  pastoral 
people,  are,  of  course,  like  almost  all  Indian  castes,  largely 
engaged  in  agriculture.  The  Jats  or  Jats,  more  exclusively 
agricultural,  are  recognized  universally  to  be  akin  to  the 
Gujars,  although  it  is  impossible  to  define  the  relationship. 
Neither  Jats  or  Gujars  are  accounted  to  rank  as  Rajputs 
or  Kshatriyas,  but  most  of  the  Panjab  Jats  claim  Rajput 
descent.^ 

The  prominent  position  occupied  by  Gurjara  kingdoms  in  Gurjara 
early  mediaeval  times  is  a  recent  discovery.  The  existence  '"^  ^"^ 
of  a  small  Gurjara  principality  at  Bharoch  (Broach),  and  of 
a  larger  state  in  Rajputana,  had  been  known  to  archaeologists 
for  numy  years,  but  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  Bhoja, 
and  the  other  kings  of  the  powerful  Kanauj  dynasty  in 
the  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries  were  Gurjaras  is 
of  recent  date.  Certain  misreadings  of  epigraphic  dates  had 
obscured  the  true  history  of  that  dynasty,  and  the  correct 
readings  have  been  established  only  within  the  last  few 
years.  It  is  now  definitely  proved  that  Bhoja  {c.  a.d.  840- 
90),  his  predecessors  and  successors,  belonged  to  the  Prati- 
hara  (Parihar)  clan  of  the  Gurjara  tribe  or  caste,  and, 
consequently,  that  the  well-known  clan  of  Parihar  Rajputs 
is  a  branch  of  the  Gurjara  or  Gujar  stock. ^ 

»  Jdt  in  United  Provinces,  Jat  in  (/.  Bo.  Br.  Ji.  A.  S.,  vol.  xx) ;  *  Epi- 

Panjab.    Panjab  Census  Rep.,  1901,  graphic  Notes  '  (ibid. ,  vol.  xxi) ;  and 

pp.  324,  326.  Prof.  Kielhorn,  '  Epigraphic  Notes,' 

^  The  discovery  is  the  work  of  No.   17,  'The  Gwalior  Inscription 

Messrs.  A.  M.  T.  Jackson  (Bom.  of  Mihira.  Bhoja.'  [Narhr.  d.k.  Gen f II- 

Gaz.,  vol.  i,  part  i  (1896),  esp.  p.  .srha/t    d.     Wlssensch.,    Gottingen, 

4.67) ;  D.  R.  Bhandarkar, '  Gurjaras '  1905).    This  important  inscription 


412  THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

The  '  fire-       A  familiar  legend  appearing  in  the  Chand  Rdisd  and  other 
clans  ^'^^^  documents  in  variant  forms  groups  together  four  Rajput 

clans — the  Pa  war  (Pramara),  Parihar  (Pratihara),  Chauhan 
(Ciiahumana),  and  Solanki  or  Chaulukya — as  being  Agnikula, 
or  '  fire-born  ',  originatiiig  from  a  sacrificial  fire-pit  at  Mount 
Abii  in  Southern  Rajputana.  The  myth  seems  to  express 
the  historical  truths  that  the  four  clans  named  are  related, 
and  all  arose  in  Southern  Rajputana ;  and  further,  as  Mr. 
Crooke  justly  observes,  it  'represents  a  rite  of  purgation 
by  fire,  the  scene  of  which  was  in  Southern  Rajputana, 
whereby  the  impurity  of  the  foreigners  was  removed  and 
they  became  fitted  to  enter  the  Hindu  caste  system  '.^ 
The  The  fact  that  one  of  the  four  clans,  namely,  the  Parihar, 

undoubtedly  is  of  the  Gujar  stock,  raises  a  strong  pre- 
sumption that  the  three  others  also  are  descended  from 
Gurjaras  or  similar  foreign  immigrants.  In  this  way  the 
origin  of  some  of  the  most  notable  of  the  Rajput  clans  is 
accounted  for.  The  Gurjaras  are  believed  to  have  entered 
India  either  along  witii  or  soon  after  the  White  Huns,  and 
to  have  settled  in  large  numbers  in  Rajputana;  but  there 
is  nothing  to  show  what  part  of  Asia  they  came  from,  or 
to  what  race  they  belonged.  The  Pa  war  head-quarters  were 
at  ChandravatI  and  Achalgarh,  near  Mount  Abu,  and  in 
the  seventh  century  the  Parihars  ruled  a  large  part  of  Rilj- 
putana  from  Bhinmal,  some  50  miles  to  the  north-west  of 
Mount  Abu.  About  a.d.  800  Nagabhata,  king  of  the 
Gurjara  country,  conquered  Kanauj  on  the  Ganges,  to 
which  city  he  shifted  his  capital,  and  so  founded  the  long 
line  of  Kanauj  kings  who  ruled  there  until  the  capital  was 
taken  by  Mahmiid  of  Ghazni  at  the  beginning  of  a.d.  1019 
{ante,  p.  383).  The  discovery  that  the  Rajas  of  Kanauj 
from  800  to  1018,  some  of  whom  enjoyed  the  rank  of 
paramount  sovereigns  of  Northern  India,  really  were  the 
descendants  of  'barbarian^  foreign  immigrants  into  Raj- 
putana in  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  and  first  cousins  of  the 

has  been  edited  also  by  Hirananda  his  small  IliMort/  of  India,  and  in 

in  the  Archacol.   S.  India,  Annual  articles  in  J.  R.A.S.,  19()3-.j. 
ViVy,.,  HXKS-l,  p.  277.     Dr.  Hoernle  ^  ♦  Rajputs   and   Mahrattas'    (./. 

has  laid  stress  on  the  discovery  in  litjy.  Avlltroji.  Ins/.,  1911,  p.  42). 


DESCENT   FROM    ABORIGINAL   TRIBES    413 

Gujars,  though  recognized  as  high-class  Rajputs,  is  one  of 
the  most  notable  additions  made  to  Indian  historical  know- 
ledge for  many  years  past.  Although  the  history  of  the 
otlier  Rajput  clans  of  the  north  has  not  been  worked  out 
with  equal  fulhiess,  a  fair  presumption  arises  that  many  of 
them  were  of  similar  origin.  Tlie  truth  seems  to  be  that 
when  a  foreign  clan  or  tribe  became  Ilinduized  the  rulirig 
families  were  readily  recognized  as  Kshatriyas  or  Rajputs, 
while  the  rank  and  file  gradually  lost  their  tribal  organization, 
and  developed  into  an  Indian  caste  not  regarded  as  aristo- 
cratic. 

Some  of  the  principal  clans  farther  south  spring  from  Indi- 
a  different  source,  and  apparently  are  descended  from  the  ori^""  of 
so-called  aboriginal  tribes,  Gonds,  Bhars,  Kols,  and  the  like,  the 
whom  the  late  Sir  Herbert  Risley  designated  by  the  singularly  clans, 
inappropriate  generic  name  of  '  Dravidians  ',  one  of  the  most 
misleading  terms  ever  introduced.^  The  evidence  of  a  close 
connexion  between  the  Chandels  and  the  Gonds,  who,  again, 
were  associated  with  the  Bhars,  is  particularly  strong ;  and 
the  inference  is  fully  justified  that  the  Chandel  Rajputs 
were  originally  Hinduized  Bhars  or  Gonds,  or  both,  who 
attained  recognition  as  Kshatriyas  or  Rajputs,  when  they 
acquired  power  and  took  up  the  business  of  kingship  for 
which  the  Kshatriya  group  of  castes  was  appropriated.  The 
Gaharwars  similarly  are  associated  with  the  Bhars ;  the 
Bundelas  and  the  northern  Rathors  are  offshoots  of  the 
Gaharwars,  and  so  on.  The  name  of  the  great  Rashtrakuta 
clan  of  the  Deccan,  the  political  history  of  which  will  be 
treated  in  the  next  chapter,  is  etymologically  identical 
with  Rathor,  but  there  is  not,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  evidence 
of  any  racial  connexion  between  the  Rashtrakutas  of  the 
Deccan  and  the  Rathors  of  Hindustan.  The  former  seem  to 
have  originated  among  some  one  or  other  of  the  indigenous 

1  Dravidian  is  the  English  form  the  Gonds,  Kols,  Bhars,  and  other 

of  the  adjective  Dnlvida,  with  the  so-called     '  non-Aryan '    tribes    of 

meaning  '  belonging  to  Dravida,  or  Central  India  and  the  North.     The 

the  Tamil  country.'     It  is  applied  word    Drdvida   is   said    to    be   an 

with    propriety    to    the   territory,  Aryanized  form  of  Tamil,  meaning 

people,  or  language  of  the  extreme  '  nice '  or  *  sweet ',  as  applied  to  the 

south,  but  is  wholly  inapplicable  to  language  (Jnd.  Ant.,  191-2,  p.  239). 


414 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 


Struggle 

between 

northern 

and 

southern 

clans. 


tribes  of  the  Deccun  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  Chaudels 
became  differentiated  from  the  Gonds  of  the  territory  which 
is  now  the  Chhatarpur  State.^ 

The  unceasing  wars  of  the  mediaeval  period  become 
a  little  more  intelligible  and  interesting  when  they  are 
regarded  as  being  in  large  part  a  secular  struggle  between 
the  foreign  Rajputs  of  the  north  and  the  indigenous  Rajputs 
of  the  south.  Of  course,  this  arrangement  of  the  sides  did 
not  always  liold  good,  and  powers  normally  at  feud  some- 
times made  friends  and  contracted  alliances  one  with  the 
other,  or  all  parties  momentarily  combined  against  the 
Muhammadans.  But  I  think  it  is  true  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  Rajputs  formed  by  the  social  promotion  of  ^abori- 
gines' were  inimical  to  the  Rajputs  descended  from  'bar- 
barian '  immigrants.  In  the  northern  group  the  clans  most 
conspicuous  in  the  historical  field  are  the  Chauhans,  Parihars, 
Tomaras,  and  Pawars ;  in  the  southern  group  the  principal 
clans  are  the  Chandels,  Kalachuris,  or  Haihayas,  Gaharwars, 
and  Rashtrakutas.  The  origin  of  the  Solankis  or  Chalukyas 
(Chaulukya,  &c.)  is  disputed.  They  claim  to  come  from 
Oudh,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  they  are  really  of  foreign 
origin,  like  the  three  other  clans  with  which  they  are 
associated  in  the  ^  fire-pit '  story.^ 
Summary.  The  main  points  to  remember  are  that  the  Kshatriya  or 
Rajput  group  of  castes  is  essentially  an  occupational  group, 
composed  of  all  clans  following  the  Hindu  ritual  who  actually 
undertook  the  work  of  government;  that,  consequently, 
people  of  most  diverse  races  were  and  are  lumped  together  as 
Rajputs ;  and  that  most  of  the  great  clans  now  in  existence 
are  descended  either  from  foreign  immigrants  of  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  or  from  indigenous  races 


^  For  the  origin  of  the  Chandels, 
see  my  paper  in  J.  A.  S.  B.,  vol. 
xlvi,  part  i.  (1877\  p,  233  ;  and  my 
monograph,  'The  History  and  Coin- 
age of  the  Chandel  (Chandella) 
Dynasty  of  Bundelkhand  Jejaka- 
bhukti  from  a.  d.  K31  to  Uit^'ilnd. 
y/n<.,19()H,  pp.  II  1.-48).  ForGahar- 
wars,  see  Beames  and  Elliot,  Hares 
of  the  N.  W.  Provinces,  and  for  all 


northern  castes  Mr.  Crooke's  work 
in  four  volumes.  Tribes  and  Castes 
of  the  N.  W.  P.  For  speculations 
about  the  Rashtrakutas,  see  Bom. 
Gaz.,  vol.  i,  part  i  (1896),  pp.  119- 
34. ;  ibid.,  part  ii,  pp.  178,  38k 

=  Bom.  Gaz.,  vol.  i,  part  1  (,1896), 
p.  4-65,  &c.  Contra,  Ojha,  Early 
Jlistoiy  of  the  Solankis  (in  Hindi), 
pp.  12-14.. 


ORIGIN   OF   THE  SENA   DYNASTY         415 

such  as  the  Gonds  and  Bhais.  This  finding  will,  I  fear,  be 
displeasing  to  many  families  of  Indian  gentry,  who  naturally 
prefer  to  believe  in  orthodox  Brahman-made  pedigrees  going 
back  to  the  sun,  moon,  or  fire-pit;  but  I  am  convinced  that 
it  is  substantially  true,  although  the  evidence  is  of  a  kind 
difficult  to  grasp,  and  incapable  of  brief  presentation.  The 
references  in  the  note  will  enable  the  curious  reader  to  pursue 
the  subject  further.^ 

APPENDIX   O 

The  Origin  and  Chronologtf  of  the  Sena  Dynasty 

The  strong  interest  taken  by  many  of  my  readers  in  the  early  Interest  in 
history  of  Bengal  induces  me  to  devote  considerable  space  to  the  sub- 
the  justification  of  the  statements  in  the  text  concerning  the  J^*'"''* 
Sena  dynasty,   which   differ  widely    from    those    made    in    the 
second  edition,  when  much  material  now  available  was  not  at 
my  disposal. 

The  Sena  kings  succeeded  one  another  from  father  to  son.  The  suc- 
The  names  and  order  of  succession  are  established  by  inscrip-  cession  of 
tions  beyond  dispute  as  being  (l)  Samantasena,  (2)  Hemanta- t . 
sena,  (3)  Vijayasena,  (4)  Vallalasena  or  Ballal  Sen,  (5)  Lakshmana-  ' 

sena,  (6)  Vi^varupasena.  Nos.  1  and  2  were  merely  local  chiefs 
in  Orissa,  and  No.  6  was  a  ruler  of  small  power  in  Eastern  Bengal. 
The  general  history  of  India  is  interested  only  in  Nos.  3,  4,  .5, 
who  governed  dominions  of  large  extent  and  took  rank  among 
the  greater  powers. 

Nobody  now  maintains  the  hypothesis  that  there  were  two  Matters  no 

Lakshmanasenas,  or  that  Lakshamanasena  of  the  inscriptions  is  longer  in 

dispute. 

*  Further  references  are  :   V.  A.  from  Nagar  Brahmans  ;  that  their 

Smith,    'The   Gurjaras   of  Rajpu-  ancestors,  after  they  became  chiefs, 

tanaandKanauj  '  (./.  i?.^.  (S.,  1909,  were    known   as    Brahraakshatris, 

Jan.    and    April)  ;      *  White    Hun  and  that  they  were  closely  associ- 

(Ephthalite)  Coins  from  the  Panjab '  ated  with   the   kings   of  Valabhi, 

(ibid.,   Jan.,   1907);   'White   Hun  who  belonged  to  the  Hilna-Gurjara 

Coin    of    Vyaghramukha '    (ibid.,  group. 

Oct.,  1907);  '  The  Outliers  of  Ra-  Mr.    James   Kennedy's   brilliant 

jasthanl'    {Ind.   Ant.,   1911);   and  essay,  entitled  ' Mediaeval  History 

D.  R.  Bhandarkar, '  The  Gurjaras '  of    Northern    India  :     the    Hindu 

{J.  Bo.  Br.    R.  A.  S.,   vol.   xxi).  Period,  a.  d.  650-1200'  (Imp.  G'az., 

The  same  author's  paper  '  Guhilots '  1908,  vol.    ii,  chap,   viii)  needs  to 

(J.  Sf  Proc.  A.  S.  B.  (N.  S.),  vol.  v,  be  read  with  caution.     Several  of 

1909),  is  most  suggestive  and  valu-  his  statements  of  fact  require  cor- 

able.     He  demonstrates   that  the  rection,  and   his  theoretical  views 

Ranas    of    Mewar    or    Udaipur,  are  open  to  criticism.    Mr.  Kennedy 

admittedly  the   premier  chiefs   in  underrates  the  Gujar  power.     The 

Rajputana  and  the  leaders  of  the  bibliography  appended  to  his  essay 

Rajput    chivalry,    are    descended  is  useful. 


416         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

to  be  distinguished  from  Rae  Lakhmaniya  who  was  driven  out 
of  Niidlah  (Nuddea)  by  Muhammad  the  son  of  Bakhtyar,  as 
described  in  the  Tahakat-i-Nasin.  I  assume  the  identity  of  the 
Rae  of  the  Tahakat  with  the  Lakshmanasena  of  the  inscriptions. 
Another  matter  definitely  settled  by  the  labours  of  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Kielhorn,  as  confirmed  by  subsequent  researches,  is  the 
beginning  of  the  era  known  by  the  name  of  Lahshamanasena.  The 
first  day  of  that  era  was  October  7,  a.  d.  1119,  and  the  first  current 
3'ear  as  reckoned  from  that  era  was  a.  d.  1 1 1 9-20.  It  is  also  admit- 
ted that  Lakshamanasena  was  driven  out  of  Nudlah  by  Muhammad 
the  son  of  Bakhtyar  at  some  date  subsequent  to  the  taking  of 
Delhi  by  the  Muhammadans  in  a.  h.  589,  which  is  practically 
equivalent  to  a.  d.  1193,  and  prior  to  Muhammad's  expedition 
into  the  hills  of  the  NE.  frontier,  called  Tibbat  (Tibet)  by  the 
author  of  the  Tahakat,  which  took  place  in  a.m.  601  (Aug.  i204— 
Aug.  1205). 
Disputed  But  considerable  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  exact 
date  of  the  date  of  the  raid  on  Nudlah,  which  is  not  stated  in  the  Tahakdl, 
r^i^f*?  our  only  authority  for  the  details.  That  work,  it  may  be  noted, 
was  closed  in  a.  h.  6.58,  practically  equivalent  to  a.  d.  1260.  The 
author,  commonly  called  Minhaj-i-Siraj,  expressly  states  that  in 
A.  H.  641  (June,  A.  D.  1243-June,  1244)  he  obtained  an  account 
of  the  operations  of  Muhammad  the  son  of  Bakhtyar  against 
Bihar  town  from  two  of  his  surviving  soldiers  (Raverty,  transL, 
p.  552).  His  account,  therefore,  has  almost  the  authority  of  a  con- 
temporary narrative  so  far  as  that  event  is  concerned.  But  he 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  well  informed  about  the  raid  on 
Nadiah. 
V-        ..  In  the  briefest  possible  summary,  the  historian's  narrative  is 

in  the  •"'  follows.  Muhammad,  son  of  Bakhtyar,  a  man  of  the  Turkish 
Tahakdt-i-  Khalj  tribe,  failed  to  obtain  employment  from  Kutb-ud-din  after 
Ndsiri.  the  capture  of  Delhi  in  a.  h.  589-  When  some  time,  apparently 
a  considerable  interval,  had  elapsed,  he  ac(juired  a  certain 
amount  of  military  power  and  obtained  a  fief  in  the  Mirzapur 
district  from  which  he  was  'in  the  habit  of  making  incursions 
into  Muner  (Mungir  or  Monghyr)  and  Bihar ',  until  he  collected 
'  .ample  resources  in  the  shape  of  horses,  arms,  and  men '.  We 
are  further  told  that  he  '  used  to  carry  his  depredations  into 
those  parts '  until  he  organized  a  final  attack  upon  the  fortified 
city  of  Bihar.  He  captured  the  city,  as  related  in  the  text,  and 
brought  great  booty  to  the  presence  of  Kutb-ud-din,  who  was, 
perhaps,  then  at  Mahoba  in  Bundelkhand.  The  favour  with 
which  he  was  received  excited  jealousy,  which  was  not  allayed 
until  Muhammad  justified  himself  by  defeating  a  furious  elephant. 
After  that  incident  he  departed  for  Bihar.  Meantime,  many  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Nudlah  became  alarmed  and  deserted  their 
king,  Rae  Lakhmaniya,  or  Lakshmanasena.  '  The  following  year 
after  that,  Muhammad-i-Bakhtyar  caused  a  force  to  be  prepared. 


RAE   LAKHMANIYA  417 

pressed  on  from  Bihar,  and  suddenly  appeared  before  the  city  of 
Nudiah ',  as  described  in  the  text.' 

Now,  on  reconsideration  of  the  evidence,  I  agree  witli  Bh)cli-  True  date 
mann  that  it  is  impossible  to  date  the   attack   on    Nudials,  as  "just  be 
Raverty  did,  in  a.m.  090.     The  operations  of  Muhammad  above  ^  ^^   ^jj_5_ 
detailed  must  have  occupied  several  years  after  a.  u.  .'>S9,  when 
Delhi  was   taken.      On  the  other  hand,  Minhaj-i-Siraj    tells  us 
(Raverty,  p.    ;560)  that  'after   some    years    had    passed    away', 
Muhammad  oro-anized  his  expedition  to  'Tibbat'.     That  disas- 
trous  operation  took  place  in  a.m.  6OI   (Aug.  a.  u,   1!201— Aug. 
1205).     The  capture  of  Nudiah,  therefore,  must  be  dated  several 
years  after  a.h.  589,  and  'some  years'  before  a. h.  6OI,  say  in 
or  about  a.h.  595  (Nov.  a.  d.  1198  to  Oct.  1199). 

But  the  story  told  by  Minhaj-i-Siruj  enables  us  to  fix  the  date  RaeLakh- 
with  a  little  more  precision.     He  was  informed  that  Rae  Lakh-  maniya's 
maniya  had  then  been  on  the  throne  for  eighty  years,  reckoned  ^^^-^^^^f 
from  his  birth.     That  assertion,  which  is  supported  by  an  anec-  eighty 
dote,  manifestly  legendary,  is  in  itself  highly  improbable.     The  years, 
longest  recorded  Indian  reign  is  that  of  Choraganga  of  Orissa, 
which  extended  to  seventy-one  years  complete  (a.  d.  1076-1 147); 
and,  so  far  as  I  know,  a  reign  of  eighty  years  cannot  be  traced  in 
the  history  of  any  country.     Raverty  supported  his  belief  in  the 
eighty  years'  reign  by  quoting  a  statement  made  by  Munshi  Shiam 
Parshad  in  an  account  of  Gaur,  written  for   Major   Francklin, 
that  Lakshmanascna  reigned  from  a.h.   510-590,  eighty  lunar 
years.     But  it  does  not  appear  what  authority  the  Nlunshi  had 
for  his  statement.     Another  argument  cm  the  same  side  is  that 
Muhammad  died  in  a.  h.  602,  and  according  to  certain  historians 
had   reigned  or  ruled  for  twelve  years  in  Lakhnauti  or  Gaur. 
Twelve  years  back  from  a.h.  602  bring  us  to  a.h.  590.     It  is 
possible,   however,  as   Babu   Monmohan   Chakravarti    suggests, 
that  the  rule  of  Muhammad  may  have  been  reckoned  from  a  time 
prior  to  the  attack  on  Nudiah.     On  reconsideration,  I  agree  with 
Blochmann  in  rejecting  both  the  alleged  eighty  years'  reign  and 
the  date  a.  h.  590  for  the  attack  on  Nudiah. 

I  now  accept   the   suggestion  made  long  ago  by   Professor  Attack  on 

Kielhorn  (Lid.  Anl.,  vol.  xix  (1890),  p.  7)  that  the  legend  of  the  Nudiah  iii 

...  ^    .      .       ■     -,       .      ^      ■    '    \       :      J-        i-i      vT-  1-  I       -1  the  year  80 

eighty  years  reign  is  due  to  a  misunderstanding,  the  INuciiali  raul  ^^  Laksh- 

having  really  taken  place  in  the  year  80  of  the  Lakshmanasena  mana- 
era.     Dates  in  that  era  were  usually  calculated  as  expired  years,  sena's  era. 
but  occasionally  as  current  years.     On  the  supposition  that  the 
year  was  'expired',  the  year  80  would  be  a.h.    1119-20   plus 
80=a.d.    1199-1200  (October    to   October).     If  the    current 

'  Since  the  passage  above   was  throne  about  a.  n.  11 19 and  was  dead 

written,  Mr.    S.   Kumar  has  pub-  long  before  the  Muhamraadan  raid, 

lished  the  opinion  that  the  testimony  The   suggestion  does  not  approve 

of    the     Tahakat    should    be    dis-  itself  to  my  judgement  {Ind.  Ant., 

regarded.    He  is  inclined  to  believe  1913,  p.  188). 
that  Lakshmanasena  ascended  the 

162S  E  e 


418 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   NORTH 


Event 
com- 
memo- 
rated by 
the  era. 


Parallel 
case. 


Recorded 
Sena  dates 
and  syn- 
chronisms. 


year  should  be  understood,  the  date  would  be  a.  d.  1198-9 
(November  to  October).  Probably  the  event  took  place  during 
the  cold  season  of  1199-1200,  that  is  to  say,  late  in  a.  d.  1199, 
early  in  a.  h.  596.  We  may  be  confident  that  it  occurred  in 
either  a.  h.  595  or  596,  not  in  a.  h.  590,  as  I  fomierly  believed. 

Having  settled  the  chronology  so  far,  we  must  consider  the 
question  as  to  what  event  marked  the  beginning  of  the  Laksh- 
manasena  era  on  October  7,  1119,  approximately  eighty  years 
before  the  Nudlah  raid.  Babu  Monmolian  Chakravarti  assumes 
that  the  era  marks  the  accession  of  Samantasena,  the  first 
liistorical  name  in  the  genealogy.  But  that  personage  was  an 
obscure  local  chief,  and  it  is  most  unlikely  that  his  accession 
should  have  been  taken  as  the  starting-point  for  a  new  era. 
Lakshmanasena  might  conceivably  have  reckoned  his  era  from  the 
date  of  the  accession  of  his  own  father,  ^'allalasena  (Ballal  Sen). 
But  that  hypothesis,  supjiorted  by  Mr.  N.  N.  Vasu,  is  barred  by 
the  positive  evidence  of  Ballal  Sen's  date  and  the  synchronisms 
with  ^■  ijayasena  to  be  noticed  joresently.  The  third  hypothesis, 
which  I  am  disposed  to  accept  as  correct,  refers  the  establishment 
of  the  era  to  the  commemoration  of  the  accession  (or  coronation, 
abhishekd)  of  Vijayasena,  the  first  independent  sovereign  of  the 
dynasty.  It  is,  however,  possible  that  the  era  should  be  reckoned 
from  the  accession  of  his  father  Hemantasena,  as  suggested  by 
the  narrative  of  Taranath. 

On  the  assumption  that  the  era  dates  from  the  accession  of 
Vijayasena,'  the  case  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Imperial  Guptas. 
The  Gupta  era  of  a.  d.  319-20  is  reckoned  from  the  accession 
(or  coronation)  of  Chandra-gupta  I,  the  first  considerable  and 
independent  king  of  his  line,  not  from  the  accession  of  his 
grandfather  Gupta,  who  was  a  petty  chief,  Uke  Samantasena 
the  grandfather  of  Vijayasena,  nor  from  the  accession  of  Chandra- 
gupta's  father,  Ghatotkacha. 

On  this  assumption,  the  whole  scheme  of  Sena  chronology 
becomes  intelligible,  fitting  in  well  with  the  known  facts  and 
syncln-onisms.  For  Ballal  Sen  or  Vallrdasena  we  have  two 
positive  dates  in  literature,  namely,  a.  n.  1168-9  and  1170-1 
(Saka  1090  and  1091).^ 

For  Vijayasena  we  have  three  synchronisms.  He  is  described  as 
'the  fi-iend  of  Choraganga  (Ckomganga  sakhali).'  Choraganga  liad 
an  exceptionally  long  reign  of  more  than  seventy-one  years,  from 
A.  D.  1076  to  1147.  The  latter  part  of  it  coincides  with  twenty- 
eight  years  of  the  reign  of  Vijayasena,  according  to  my  chrono- 
logy, which,  accordingly,  is   supported    to   some   extent.     The 


'  Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji,  agreeing 
with  Mr.  S.  Kumar,  holds  that  the 
era  marks  the  accession  of  Laksh- 
manasena, wliom  lie  supposes  to 
have  been  dead  many  years  before 


the  attack   made  by  Muhammad, 
son  of  Bakhtyar. 

*  Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji  rejects  these 
dates. 


VIJAYASENA  419 

other  two  synchronisms  are  vague  and  imperfect.  An  in- 
scription records  tliat  Vijayasena  made  captive  four  kings, 
namely,  Nanya,  Vira,  Raghava,  and  V^irdhana.  VVe  are  also 
told  that  he  'impetuously  assailed  the  lord  of  CJauda,  j)ut  down 
the  prince  of  Kamarupa,  and  defeated  the  Kalinga'.  Unluckily, 
the  record  does  not  join  the  names  of  the  kings  and  the  countries. 
But  we  may  be  nearly  certain  that  the  Raghava  referred  to  is 
the  Kalinga  prince  of  that  name,  who  reigned  from  about 
A.D.  1156  to  1170  (Saka  1078-92);  and  there  is  as  great 
a  probability  that  Nanya  means  Nanyadeva  of  Tirhut,  who 
founded  Simraun  in  a.  d.  1097  and  afterwards  established  the 
Karnataka  dynasty  in  the  valley  of  Nepal.  I  cannot  positively 
identify  either  Vlra  or  \'ardhana.  One  of  them  presumably  must 
have  been^the  R<lja  of  Krimarujw  or  Assam.  An  Assamese  legend 
dates  in  Saka  1111  (a.  n.  1189)  h  Virapala  whose  son  became  a 
powerful  king,  and  an  undated  copperplate  mentions  a  king  of 
Kamarupa  named  Virabahu.  Probably,  therefore,  Vlra  was  the 
Raja  of  Kamarupa. 

Vijayasena's  victory  over  Gaur  (Gauda  or  Gaura)  adjoining 
the  Sena  principality,  presumably  occurred  early  in  his  reign.  It 
may  have  been  gained  over  either  Ramapala  or  his  son  Kuma- 
rapala,  more  likely  the  latter.  The  name  Vardhana  has  not  come 
under  my  notice  in  any  other  record,  but  it  may  i-efer  to  the 
Pala  king.  It  is  probable  that  the  death  of  Ramapfda  after  a  long 
reign  had  weakened  the  Pala  kingdom.^ 

I  conclude  this  dissertation  by  a  notice  of  the  origin  and  rise  The  Sena 
of  the  Sena  royal  family.    The  ancestors  were  of  southern  origin,  ^'"S^' 
from  the  Deccan,  and  are  described  both  as  Karnata  Kshatriyas,  from  the 
and    as    Brahmakshatras.      The    meaning    of    the    latter   term,  Deccan. 
misunderstood  by   Professor  Kielhorn,  has  been  elucidated  by 
Mr.   D.   R.  Bhandarkar.     His  observations,  which  throw  much 
light  on  the  history  of  caste,  deserve  to  be  quoted  textually  : — 

'  We  have  already  seen  that  a  Chatsu  inscription  speaks  of  a  Guhilot  Meaning 
king  Bhartribhatta  as  Brahma-Kshatr-dnvita,  which  I  have  translated  by  of  the 
"  possessed  of  both  priestly  and  martial  energy  ",  but  a  footnote  has  been  term 
added  below  saying  that  what  is  also  implied  is  that  Bhartribhatta  was  Brahina- 
a  Brahmakshatri,  i.  e.  belonged  to  the  Brahmakshatrl  caste.     Bhartri-  kshatra. 
bhatta  is  not  the  only  ancient  king  of  India  who  is  so  called.     In  the 
Deopara  inscription  of  Vijayasena,  of  the  well-known  Sena  dynasty  of 

1  My  suggested  chronology  for  the  Sena  dynasty  therefore  is  : — 
Samantasena,  local  chief,  ace.  c.  a.  p-  1080-90. 

Hemantasena,        ,,  ,,  ,,     IKH). 

Vijayasena,        king  ,,  ,,     1119. 

I 
Vallalasena,  „  „  ,,1158. 

Lakshmanasena,    ,,  ,,  ,,     117-2  or  1180  (?). 

E  e  2 


420         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   NORTH 

Bengal,  Saraantasena  is  described  as  Brdhma-kshalrii/dm'nh  kuIa-<iro- 
duma,  which  expression  was  rendered  by  Prof.  Kielhorn  by  "  head-garland 
of  the  clans  of  the  Brahnians  and  Kshatriyas  ",  but  which  ought  to  have 
been  rendered,  I  think,  by  "  head-garland  of  the  Brahma-kshatri  family  ". 
That  the  latter  is  the  correct  translation  is  shown  by  the  terra  Brahma- 
kshatra  used  with  reference  to  the  Sena  kings  in  the  Balldla-charita 
[BIbl.  Ind.\. 

Now,  there  is  a  caste  called  Brahmakshatri,  corresponding  to  this 
Brahmakshd/ra,  the  members  of  which  are  found  all  over  the  Panjab,  Raj- 
putana,  Kathiawar,  Gujarat,  and  even  the  Dekkan.  In  my  opinion,  as 
already  stated,  they  were  originally  the  Brahmana  classes  of  new  tribes 
afterwards  turned  Kshatriyas,  before  their  final  mergence  into  the  Hindu 
society '. 

The  author  then  cites  the  case  of  the  Bandhfira  weavers  and 
dyers  in  the  Jodhpur  State,  who  originally  were  Nagar  Brahnians, 
and  proceeds  : — 

'  Here  then  we  have  an  instance  of  a  Brahmakshatri  caste,  the  people 
of  which  say  that  they  were  originally  Nagar  Brahmanas.  This  clearly 
explains  how  the  Guhilots,  who  were  also  originally  Nagar  Brahmanas, 
became  Brahmakshatris  or  Khatrls,  and  also  strengthens  my  theory  that 
the  various  castes  of  the  Brahmakshatris  were  originally  the  Brahmana 
classes  of  foreign  tribes,  which  after  the  process  of  fusion  had  set  in,  but 
before  it  was  complete,  exchanged  their  priestly  for  martial  pursuits '. 

The  Sena        Mr.  Bhandarkar  is  perfectly  right.    Consequently,  the  ancestor 
royal  of  the  Sena  kings  must  have  been  a  Brahman  from  the  Deccan, 

family  jirobably  employed  in  the  natural  office  of  a  Brahman  as 
Brahman.  ^  minister.  When  he  passed  from  ministerial  to  ruling  functions, 
he  became  a  Brahmakshatri,  his  descendants  being  accepted  as 
full  Kshatriyas,  capable  of  intermarriage  with  other  ruling  families 
reckoned  as  Kshatriyas.  Most  likely  Samantasena  had  been 
in  the  service  of  the  king  of  Kalinga  or  Orissa,  namely  Chora- 
ganga  (1076-1 147).  That  king  claims  to  have  become  supreme 
lord  of  all  Orissa  (^sakal-Olkala-savmijy(i)  at  some  date  prior 
to  A.  n.  1118.  The  establishment  of  Samantadeva  as  a  semi- 
independent  chief  in  northern  Orissa  may  be  dated  somewhere 
about  1080  or  1090,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eleventh  century. 
Possibly  he  may  not  have  been  a  ruling  chief.  His  son,  Heman- 
tasena,  may  have  been  the  first  to  act  as  raja. 
Earliest  The  earliest  actually  known  seat  of  the  Senas  was  at  Kaslpurl, 

seat  of  the  the  modern  Kasiiiri,  on  the  Suvarnarckha  river,  in  the  Mayura- 
^^^^  ^        bhanja  State,  the  most  northerly  of  the  Orissan  Tributary  States, 
adjoining  the  Midna})ore  District.      I  quote  from  the  admirable 
Archaeological  Survey  Report  of  Babu  Nagendranath  Vasu. 

'  We  have  read  in  the  genealogical  history  of  the  Paschatya  Vaidika  of 
Bengal,  written  on  palm-leaves  and  about  three  hundred  years  old,  that 
the  royal  Sena  dynasty  reigned  in  a  place  called  Ka^ipurl  and  situated  on 
the  banks  of  the  Suvarnarckha.  Two  sons  were  born  to  Vijayasena,  one 
of  the  rulers  of  this  place  ;  the  elder  being  named  Malla  an^  the  younger 
syamala.  It  was  the  latter  that  conquered  eastern  Bengal  and  made  the 
city  of  Vikrainapura  his  capital.  According  to  the  Pa.^chatya  Kulamaii- 
jarl,  Syamalavarma's  sway  in  Vikramapura   commenced   in  Saka  994, 


AUTHORITIES  421 

i.  e.  1072  A.  D.  .  .  .  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  ancient  name  of  Kailpuri  has 
now  degenerated  into  Kasiari  '.i 

I  cannot  follow  out  the  problems  of  local  history  suggested  by 
that  passage,  and  the  observations  which  follow  in  the  work  cited. 

At  present  I  am  only  concerned  to  note  that  Kaslpurl  or  Kasiari 
was  the  early  seat  of  the  Sena  kings.  The  date,  a.  d.  1072,  for 
Vijayasena's  son  seems  to  be  too  early." 

In  order  to  save  the  necessity  of  a  multitude  of  foot-notes  the 
principal  references  are  appended  in  a  classified  form. 

References. 

The  following  classified  list  gives  the  authorities  on  which  the  Aulhori- 
statements  in  the  text  and  appendix  concerning  the  Senas  are  ties, 
based.     Obsolete  publications  are  not  cited. 

It  is  difficult  to  interpret  the  account  of  Hhe  four  Senas '  by  General. 
Turanath  (Schiefner,  pp.  252-7).  He  gives  the  names  of  the 
kings  as  (l)  Lavasena,  (2)  Ka^asena,  (.S)  Manitasena,  (4)  Rathika- 
sena ;  observing  that  although  he  was  unable  to  fix  the  duration 
of  each  reign,  all  four  together  ruled  for  not  more  than  about 
eighty  years.  If  we  take  the  pei'iod  from  the  establishment  of 
the  era  a.  d.  1119-20,  that  is  to  say,  on  my  assumption,  the 
accession  or  coronation  of  Vijayasena,  the  duration  to  1 199  is  just 
eighty  years,  but  in  that  period  there  were  only  three,  not  four, 
kings.  Perhaps  Taranath  reckoned  the  eighty  years  from  the 
accession  of  Hemantasena.  If  that  be  so,  Ka^asena  would  be 
a  synonym  for  Vijayasena,  as  suggested  in  the  preceding  note. 
I  cannot  explain  the  other  names  given  by  Tai'anath.  His 
account  of  the  Turushka  king  Chandra,  who  conquered  all 
Magadha,  destroyed  Vikrama^ila,  and  slew  many  clergy  in 
Otantapurl  (Bihar  town),  seems  intended  to  describe  the  raid 
of  Muhammad  the  son  of  Bakhtyar,  but  why  that  personage 
should  be  described  as  Chandra  I  cannot  say.  He  proceeds 
(p.   2.56)  to  enumerate   the   later   Senas,  viz.  (1)   Lavasena   II, 

>  It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  Kasi-  Palas  in  the  twelfth  century,  are 
purl  could  become  Kasiari.  An  believed  on  acquiring  Varendra,  to 
alternative  synonymous  name,  have  made  their  capital  at  Bijaya- 
Kasiwarl,  may  have  existed.  The  nagar  near  Godagari  in  the  south- 
name  of  the  town  seems  to  be  de-  west  of  the  tract,  and  to  have 
rived  from  that  of  Ka^asena,  the  subsequently  moved  to  Lakshma- 
second  of  the  '  four  Senas '  of  Ta-  navatl,  the  town  which  afterwards 
ranath,  who  may  be  identified  with  took  the  name  of  Gauda  '  (J. It.  A. 
either  Hemantasena  or  Vijayasena,  »S'.,  1914,  p.  101).  Varendra,  the 
but  probably  the  latter, whose  name  modern  Barind,  may  be  defined  as 
is  definitely  associated  with  Ka^T-  the  uplands  of  the  Rajshahi  Divi- 
puri.  sion.     Godagari  is  a  busy  mart  on 

^  While  the  proofs  were  passing  the   Ganges,   where  the    Calcutta 

through   the   press,    the   following  and  Malda  road  crosses  the  river, 

statement  appeared  :  Gauda  is  the  Sanskrit  way  of  writ- 

'  The  Senas,  who   replaced  the  ing  Gaur. 


422  THE   KINGDOMS    OF   THE   NORTH 

(2)  Buddliasena,  (S)  Haritasena,  and  (!•)  Pratitasena^  princes  of 
small  power,  subordinate  to  the  Turushkas  or  Muhammadans. 
Date  of  Blochmann,  J.  A.  S.  B.,  part  i,  vol.  xliv  (1875),  p.  275  ;  Raverty, 

Nadlah  °^*"  ^'^1^'^''  ^^'^'^  ^^^'  ^^^'  (^^"^)'  P-  ^~^'  ^"^  transl.  Tahakdt,  App. 

D ;    Monmohan  Chakravarti,  '  Appendix  on  Sena   Kings ',  J.  S)' 

Proc.   A.S.B.    (N.S.),   vol.   i,    1905,   pp.   45-50;    and    ^Certain 

Disputed  or  Doubtful  Events  in  the  History  of  Bengal,  Muham- 

madan  Period',  ibid.,  vol.  iv,  1908,  p.  151. 

Era  of  In  addition  to  the  above  papers — Nagendranath  Vasu,  J. A.S.B. , 

Laksh-       part  i,  vol.  Ixv  (1896),  pp.  6-38;    Babu  Akshay  Kumar  Mitra, 

and^chm-' ^'"^-^  vol.  Ixix   (1900),  p.  6 1  ;    Kielhorn,  Ind.  Ant.,  xix  (1890), 

nology.       P-  6  ;  and  Ep.  Ind.,  i,  306  ;   Beveridge,  J.  A.  S.  B.,  part  i,  vol.  Ivii 

(1888),  pp.  1-7  ;  R.  D.  Bandyopadhyaya,  '  Madhainagar  Grant  of 

Literature  Lakshmanasena ',  J.  S)-  Proc.  A.  S.  B.,  vol.  v  (N.S.),  1909,  p.  467. 

in  Sena  Monmohan  Chakravarti,  '  Pavana-diUam,  or  Wind-Messenger, 

period.        by  Dhoyika,  a  court-poet  of  Lakshmana-sena,  king  of  Bengal ', 

J.  c^  Proc.  A.  S.  B.  (N.S.),  vol.  i  (1905)',  p.  41  ;    '  Supplementary 

Notes  on  the  Bengal  Poet  Dhoyika  and  the  Sena  Kings ',  ibid., 

vol.  ii  (1906),  p.  15;  'Sanskrit  Literature  in  Bengal  during  the 

Sena  Rule',  ibid.,  p.  157. 

Chora-  Monmohan  Chaki'avarti,  '  Chronology  of  the  Eastern  Ganga 

fnd^^^-a     ^^"^'^  °^  Orissa  ',  J.  A.  S.  B.,  part  i,  vol.  Ixxii  (l  903),  p.  1 4,  quoting 

vasena         VaUala-charitnih  of  Ananda  Bhatta. 

Synchron-       For  Raghava,  Monmohan  Chakravarti,  J.  c^-  Proc.  A.  S.B.(N.S.), 
isms.  vol.  i  (1905),  p.  49.      For  Nanya,  S.  Levi,  Le  Nepal,  t.  ii,  p.  198  ; 

Kielhorn,  Ep.  Ind.,  i,   p.   313,  note   57.     For  kings   of  Assam 
named  Vira,  Gait,  Report  on  the  Progress  of  Historical  Research  in 
Assam,  Shillong,    1897,  pp.  11,  19- 
f  Ih  ^^^^      Nagendranath  Vasu,  Archaeological  SuiTcy  of  Mayurahhanja, 
Senas.         published  by  the  Mayurabhanja  State,  1911,  p-  122. 
Meaning  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  '  Guhilots ',  J.  S^-  Proc.  A.  S.  B.  (N.  S.),  vol.  v, 

of  Brah-      1 909,  pp.  167-87,  especially  p.  186;    an  exceptionally  valuable 
mnkshatra.  ^^^^  oi'iginal  essay. 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   DECCAN 

The  term  Deccan,  a  convenient  and  familiar  corruption  of  The  ■ 
the  Sanskrit  word  meaning  the  South,  may  be,  and  sometimes  ^^^^"' 
is,  extended  so  as  to  cover  the  Avhole  of  India  south  of  the 
Narmada ;  but  is  usually  understood  as  designating  a  more 
limited  territory,  in  which  Malabar  and  the  Tamil  countries 
of  the  extreme  south  are  not  included.  Thus  limited,  the 
term  connotes  the  whole  region  occupied  by  the  Telugu- 
speaking  populations,  as  well  as  Maharashtra,  or  tiie 
Maratha  country.  Certain  dynasties  of  Mysore,  which  had 
more  concern  with  the  Deccan  than  with  the  extreme  south, 
are  noticed  in  this  chapter  more  conveniently  than  they  could 
be  in  connexion  with  the  Tamil  powers.  With  reference  to 
modern  political  divisions,  the  greater  part  of  the  Deccan  in 
the  restricted  sense  is  occupied  by  the  territories  of  the 
Nizam  of  Hyderabad. 

Physically,  the  country  is  for  the  most  part  a  dry,  hilly 
table-land,  traversed  by  two  great  rivers,  the  Godavari  and 
the  Krishna  (Kistna),  the  latter  of  whicb  receives  on  the  south 
an  important  aflfluent,  the  Tungabhadra. 

In  this  region  the  dominant  power  for  four  centuries  and  a.  n.  22.5- 
a  half,  up  to  about  a.  d.  225,  was  the  Andhra,  the  history  Bia',ik  in 
of  which  has  been  discussed  in  Chapter  VIII  of  this  work,  history. 

Professor  R.  G.  Bhandarkar,  writing  in  1896,  observed 
that  for  some  three  centuries  after  the  extinction  of  the 
Andhra  dynasty  'we  have  no  specific  information  about  the 
dynasties  that  ruled  over  the  country '.  Although  since  that 
date  some  additional  knowledge  has  been  acquired  concerning 
the  rulers  of  the  southern  part  of  the  table-land,  especially  the  ^    ^, 

Kadambas,  who  governed  Kanara  and  the  northern  districts 
of  Mysore  between  the  third  and  sixth  centuries,  the 
particulars  gleaned  by  archaeologists  are  not  of  sufficient 
general  interest  to  justify  detailed  notice  of  them   in  this 


424.    THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 

work.  Maharashtra^  the  western  portion  of  the  territory, 
seems  to  have  been  under  the  rule  of  princes  belonging  to  the 
Rashtrakuta  or  Ratta  clan,  which,  long  afterwards,  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century,  became  the  ruling  power  in  the 
Deccan  for  a  time.^ 
Rise  of  It  is  still  true  to  say  that  practically  the  political  history  of 

Was.  '  the  Deccan  begins  in  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  with 
the  rise  of  the  Chalukya  dynasty.  The  Chalukyas  claimed 
to  be  a  race  of  Rajputs  from  the  north,  who  imposed  their 
rule  upon  the  Dravidian  inhabitants  of  the  Deccan  table-land, 
which  had  already  been  largely  influenced  by  the  Aryan  ideas 
of  the  northerners  before  the  appearance  of  the  Chalukyas  on 
the  scene.'^  The  statements  in  the  later  Chalukya  inscrip- 
tions, which  profess  to  trace  back  the  clan  to  its  origin  in 
Ajodhya,  and  provide  the  royal  family  with  an  orthodox 
mythological  pedigree,  are  of  no  historical  value.  There  is 
some  reason  for  believing  that  the  Chahdvyas  or  Solankis 
M'ere  connected  with  tlie  Chapas,  and  so  M'ith  the  foreign 
Gurjara  tribe  of  -which  the  Chapas  were  a  branch,  and  it 
seems  to  be  probable  that  they  emigrated  from  Rajputana  to 
the  Deccan. 
A.D.  550.  The  dynasty  was  founded  by  a  chieftain  named  Pulakesin  I, 
sin'l  ^  ^^'^^o  made  himself  master  of  the  town  of  Yatapi,  the  modern 
Badfimi  in  the  Bijapiu*  District,  about  a.  d.  550,  and  estab- 

'  For  the  Kadambas,  see  Rice,  Inscriptions  of  Southern  India' (^Z'- 

Mysore  and  Coorii  frovi  the  Inscrip-  Jnd.,vo\.  viii,  App.  ii  gives  the  most 

fions,    London,   Constable   &  Co.,  trustworthy  dynastic  hsts  and  the 

1909,     Very    little    archaeological  results  of  epigraphic  studies,  up  to 

research    has    been    done    in    the  Jan.,  1006.     The   names   of  Pula- 

Nizam's  Dominions.     The  Mysore  kei^in    and    many    other    persons 

State  maintains  an  efficient  Archaeo-  mentioned  have  numerous  variants 

logical    Department,   administered  or  equivalents.     The  spelling  Pula- 

formerly  by  Mr.  Rice  and  now  by  kesin  is  now  generally   approved. 

Mr.  R.  Narasimhachar.  The  name  occurs  in  a  Chapa  gene- 

2  Except  as  otherwise  stated,  alogy,  which  is  the  only  instance 
this  chapter  is  based  upon  the  known  to  Dr.  Fleet  of  its  occur- 
second  editions  of  Dr.  Fleet's  rence  outside  the  Chalukya  family. 
'  Dynasties  of  the  Kanarese  Dis-  This  fact  supports  Mr.  Jackson's 
tricts'  and  Prof.  R.  G.  Bhan-  view  that  the  Solankis  or  Chalukyas 
darkar's  '  Early  History  of  the  were  connected  with  the  Gurjaras, 
Dekkan,'  in  BomJxty  Clazetteer  of  whom  the  Chapas  were  a  branch 
(1896),  vol.  i,  part  ii.'  Full  refer-  {Bomb.  Gaz.  (1896),  vol.  i,  part  i, 
ences  to  original  documents  will  be  pp.  127  note  2,  138,  463  note  2,  167;. 
found  in  both  works.  Prof.  Kiel-  See  ante,  p.  321. 
horn's  '  Supplement  to  the  List  of 


PULAKESIN  II  425 

lished    a    principality    of    modest    dimensions.     He    aimed, 

however,  at  more  extended  jjower,  and  is  said  to  ha\e  asserted 

his  claim  to  a  paramount  position  by  celebratini^  an  asva- 

medha,  or  horse-sacrifice. 

His  sons,  Kirtivarman  and  Mani^alesa,  extended  the  posses-  Kirtivar- 

sions  of  the  family  both  east\\'ard  and  westward.     The  clans  W"  ^"^^ 
•  .  Manga- 

more  or  less  completely  subjugated  by  the  former  include  leSa. 

the  Mauryas  of  the  Konkan — the  strip  of  coast  between  the 

Western  Ghats  and  the  sea — A\ho  may  have  been  descended 

from  the  ancient  imperial  Maurya  dynasty. 

The  succession  to   Mangalesa  was  disijuted   between   his  a.  n.  608. 

son  and  one  of  the  sons  of  Kirtivarman.     The  latter,  havini;  J!    „^" 

'  ^  sin  II. 

overcome  his  rival,  ascended  the  throne  of  Vatapi  as  Pula- 
kesin  II  in  a.d.  608,  and  was  formally  crowned  in  the 
following  year.  For  the  space  of  twenty  years  or  more  this 
able  prince  devoted  himself  to  a  career  of  aggression  directed 
against  all  the  neighboui-ing  states.  On  the  west  and  north, 
the  kings  of  Lata,  or  Southern  Gujarat;  Gurjara,  or  Nortliern 
Gujarat  and  Rajputana ;  Mfil\\  a,  and  the  Mauryas  of  the 
Konkan  felt  the  weight  of  Pulakesin's  arm. 

In  the  east  he  made  himself  master  of  Vengi,  between  the  a.d.  fi09. 
Krishna  and  Godavari,  and  established  his  brother  Kubja  of*Ven^i. 
Vishnu\ardhana  there  as  viceroy  in  a.d.  609,  with  his 
capital  at  the  stronghold  of  Pishtapiu-a,  now  Pithapuram  in 
the  Godavari  District.'  A  few  years  later,  about  a.d.  615, 
this  prince  set  up  as  an  independent  sovereign,  and  founded 
the  line  of  the  Eastern  Chalukyas,  which  lasted  until 
A.D.  1070,  when  it  was  absorbed  into  tlie  Chola  dynasty. 

All   the    southern    kingdoms,    the    Chola,    Pilndya,    and  Southern 
Kerala,  as  well  as  the  Pallava,  were  forced  into  conflict  w\i\\  '^^'*^^' 
the  ambitious  king  of  Vatapi,  who  undoubtedly  was  the  most 
powerful  monarch  to  the  south  of  the  Narmadil  in  a.d.  630. 

About   ten   years   before   that   date   he  had  successfully  a.d.  62o. 
repelled  the  attack  on  his  dominions  led  in  person  by  Ilarsha,  of^HarsIia 
the    lord    paramount    of    the    north,    who    aspired    to    the 
sovereignty  of  all  India ;  but  was  foiled  by  the  watchfulness 
and  military  skill  of  Pulakesin,  by  whom   the  line   of  the 

^  Report  on  Epigraphy,  Madras  G.  O.  No,  574,  July  17,  1908. 


426 


THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 


A.  D.  625. 
Inter- 
course 
with 
Persia. 


Ajanta 
school  of 
painting. 


A.D.  64.1. 

Visit  of 

Hiuen 

Tsang. 


A.D.  (A2. 
Defeat  of 
Pulakei^in 
by  the 
Pallavas. 


Narmada  as  the  frontier  between  the  southern  and  northern 
empires  was  successfully  maintained.^ 

The  fame  of  the  king  of  the  Deccan  spread  beyond  the 
limits  of  India,  and  reached  the  ears  of  Khusru  II,  king  of 
Persia,  who,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  reign,  a.  d.  625-6, 
received  a  complimentary  embassy  from  Pulakesin.^  The 
courtesy  was  reciprocated  by  a  return  embassy  sent  from 
Persia,  which  was  received  with  due  honour  at  the  Indian 
court.  A  large  fresco  painting  in  Cave  No.  1  at  Ajanta, 
although  unhappily  mutilated,  is  still  easily  recognizable 
as  a  vivid  representation  of  the  ceremonial  attending  the 
presentation  of  their  credentials  by  the  Persian  envoys. 

This  picture,  in  addition  to  its  interest  as  a  contem- 
porary record  of  iniusual  political  relations  between  India 
and  Persia,  is  of  the  highest  value  as  a  landmark  in  the 
history  of  art.  It  not  only  fixes  the  date  of  some  of  the 
most  important  paintings  at  Ajanta,  and  so  establishes 
a  standard  by  which  the  date  of  others  can  be  judged ;  but 
also  suggests  the  possibility  that  the  Ajanta  school  of  pictorial 
art  may  have  been  derived  directly  from  Persia,  and  ultim- 
ately from  Greece.^ 

The  wonderful  caves  in  the  Ajanta  valley  Avere  duly 
admired  by  Hiuen  Tsang,  w^ho  visited  the  court  of 
Pulakesin  II  in  the  year  a. d.  641.  The  king's  head-quarters 
at  that  time  were  not  at  Vatapi,  but  at  another  city,  which 
has  been  identified  for  good  reasons  with  Nasik.  The 
pilgrim  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the  militarj'^  power  of 
Pulakesin,  who  was  obeyed  by  his  numerous  subjects  with 
'  perfect  submission '. 

But  his  prosperity  was  not  destined  to  last  much  longer. 
In  A.n.  642,  the  long-continued  war,  which,  since  the  year 
609,  had  been  generally  disastrous  to  the  Pallavas  of  Kanchi, 

Plate  IV  of  that  work;  Plates  II, 
III,  IV  in  J.  A.  S.  J5.,  part  i,  vol. 
Ixvii  (1878) ;  the  India  Office  atlas 
of  the  Ajanta  paintings ;  and  Hist, 
of  Fine  Art  in  India  and  Ceylon, 
p.  290,  fig.  210. 

^  See  History  of  Fine  Art  in  India 
and  Ceylon,  p.  388. 


'  Ante,  p.  340. 

-  The  authority  is  the  Muham- 
niadan  historian  Tabari,  as  trans- 
lated and  quoted  in  Mr.  Fergusson's 
paper  in  ./.  7^.  A.S.,  April  1879,  and 
Burcess's  '  Notes  on  the  Bauddha 
Rock  Temples  of  Ajanta '  {Arch. 
S.  W.  /.,  No.  9,  Bombay,  1897), 
pp.    90-2.     For   the   frescoes,   see 


THE   RASHTRAKUTAS  427 

took  a  new  turn,  and  brought  ruin  and  death  upon  Pulakesin. 
The  Pallava  king,  Narasimhavarman,  captured  and  phnidered 
his  capital,  and  presumably  put  hitn  to  death.  Then  for 
thirteen  years  the  Chalukya  power,  which  Pulakesin  had 
laboured  so  hard  to  exalt,  remained  in  abeyance ;  while  the 
Pallavas  dominated  Southern  India. 

In  A.D.  655,  Vikramaditya  I,  a  son  of  Pulakesin,  restored  A.n.  fi5.5. 
the  fallen  fortunes  of  his  family,  inflicting  a  severe  defeat  ^ilya^J"'^' 
upon  the  Pallavas,  whose  strongly  fortified  capital,  Kanchi, 
was  captured.  The  struggle  with  the  southern  power  long 
continued,  and  victory  inclined  now  to  one  side,  and  now  to 
the  other.  During  this  reign  a  branch  of  the  Chalukya 
dynasty  succeeded  in  establishing  itself  in  Gujarat,  where 
in  the  next  century  it  offered  vigorous  opposition  to  the 
Arabs. 

The  main  feature  of  the  succeeding  reigns  was  the  never-  A.n.  740. 
ending  conflict  with  the  Pallavas,  whose  capital  was  again  ^{[.^  n* 
taken  by  Vikramaditya  II,  about  a.  d.  740. 

In  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  Dantidurga,  a  chief-  a.d.  75'^. 
tain  of  the  ancient,  and  apparently  indigenous,  Rashtraki~ita  j^q^^^  ■^^' 
clan,  fought  his  Avay  to  the  front,  and  overthrew  Kirtivar-  conquest, 
man  II  Chalukj^a,  the  son  and  successor  of  Vikramaditya  II. 
The  main  branch  of  the  Ciialukyas  now  became  extinct,  and 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Deccan  passed  to  the  Rashtrakutas, 
in  whose  hands  it  remained  for  nearly  two  centuries  and  a 
quarter. 

During  the  two  centuries  of  the  rule  of  tlie  early  Chalukya  a.  n.  5.50- 
dynasty  of  Vatapi,  great  changes   in   tlie  religious  state  of  state  of 
the   country   were    in    progress.     Buddhism,   although   still  religion, 
influential,  and  supported  by  a  considerable  section  of  the 
population,    was    slowly    declining,    and    suffering    gradiud 
supersession  by  its    competitors,  Jainism   and  Brahmanical 
Hinduism.     The    sacrificial    form    of    the    Hindu    religion 
received   special   attention,  and  was   made   the   subject   of 
a    nmltitude   of   formal    treatises.     The    Puranic    forms    of 
Hinduism  also  grew  in  popularity  ;  and  everywhere  elaborate 
temples  dedicated  to  Vishnu,  Siva,  or  other  members  of  the 
Puranic  pantheon,  were  erected ;  which,  even  in  their  ruins. 


428         THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 

form  magnificent  memorials  of  the  kings  of  this  period.  The 
orthodox  Hindus  borrowed  from  their  Buddhist  and  Jain 
rivals  the  practice  of  excavating  cave-temples;  and  one  of 
the  earliest  Hindu  works  of  tliis  class  is  that  made  at  Badami 
in  honour  of  Vishnu  by  Mangalesa  Ciialukya,  at  the  close  of 
the  sixth  century.  Jainism  Mas  specially  popular  in  the 
Southern  Maratha,  country.  The  religion  of  Zoroaster  was 
introduced  into  India  during  the  eighth  century.  The  first 
colony  of  Parsee  emigrants  from  Khurasan  Mhich  settled  on 
the  Indian  mainland  w'as  established  at  Sanjan  in  the  Thana 
District,  Bombay,  in  a.d.  735.^ 

f.A.n.  760.  Dantidurga  Rashtrakuta,  after  his  occupation  of  Vatapi, 
■  ■  effected  other  conquests;  but,  becoming  unpopular,  was 
deposed  by  his  uncle,  Krishna  I,  who  completed  the  estab- 
lishment of  Rashtrakilta  supremacy  over  the  dominions 
formerly  held  by  the  Chalukyas.  A  branch  of  his  family 
founded  a  principality  in   Gujarat. 

Kailasa  The  reign  of  Krishna  I  is  memorable  for  the  execution  of 

the  most  marvellous  architectural  freak  in  India,  the  Kailasa 
monolithic  temple  at  Eliira  (Ellora),  now  in  the  Nizam's 
dominions  (N.  hit.  20°  21',  E.  long.  75°  10'),  which  is  by  far 
the  most  extensive  and  sumptuous  of  the  rock-cut  shrines. 
It  has  been  fully  described  and  illustrated  by  many  writers, 
among  whom  Dr.  Burgess  and  Mr.  Fergusson  possess  most 
authority.^ 

Govindall      Krishna  I  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Govinda  II,  who,  after 

Dhruva.  '^  short  reign,  was  followed,  and  apparently  superseded,  by  his 
brother  Dhruva,  an  able  and  warlike  prince,  who  continued 
with  success  the  aggressive  wars  so  dear  to  the  heart  of 
an  Indian  raja.^  He  prided  himself  especially  on  his  defeat 
of  Vatsaraja,  the  Gurjara  king  of  Bhinmal,  whom  he  despoiled 
of  two  white  umbrellas  taken  by  Vatsaraja  from  the  king  of 
Gauda,  or  Bengal.^ 

Govinda  III,  son  of  Dhruva,  may  justly  claim  to  be  the 

'  J)id.  Ant.,  lf)12,  p.  17t.  °  Tlie  accession   of  Govinda   II 

^  Cai'cTfmph'siiwAArcli.  S.W.I. ,  took  j)iace  between  a.d.   770  and 

vol.  V.     The  correct  early  form  of  77!)(teaka  602  and  701)  {Prog.  Hep. 

the    name    is     either    VcUura    or  yi.  »S^.  IT. /.,  1903-4,  p.  60). 

Elapura,  with  variants.  ■•  •/.  It  A.  S.,  1909,  p.  25.5. 


-J  <? 


H    "S 


428 


AMOGHAVARSHA   AND   JAINISM  429 

most  remarkable  prinee  of  his  vigorous  dynasty.    He  extended  c.  a.  d.  793- 
his  power  from  the  Vindhya  mountains  and  Malwa  on  the  Govinda 
nortli  to  Kanchi  on  the  south ;    while  his  direct  rule  was  ^^^• 
carried  at  least  as  far  as  tlie  Tungabluidra.     He  created  his 
brother  Indraraja  viceroy  of  Lata,  or  Southern  Gujarat. 

The  long  reign  of   the  next  king,   Anioghavarsha,  who  r.  a.  n.  815- 
occupied  the  throne  for  not  less  than  sixty-two  years,  was  A,ij5„ha- 
largely  spent  in  constant  wars  with  the  Eastern  Chalukya  varsha; 
Rajas  of  Vengi.     He  transferred  his  capital  from  Nc'isik  to  gress. 
Manyakheta,  the  Manklr  of  the  Arab  writers,  now  Malkhed 
in  the  Nizam's  dominions  (N.  lat.  IT  10',  E.  long.  77°  IS')-' 
In  his  old  age  he  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son,  Krishna  II, 
and  de\oted  the  brief  remainder  of  his  life  to  ascetic  practices. 
The  Digambara,  or  naked,  sect  of  the  Jains  was  liberally 
patronized  by  Anioghavarsha.     The  rapid  progress  made  by 
Digambara  Jainism  late  in  the  ninth  and  early  in  the  tenth 
century,  under  the  guidance  of  various  notable  leaders,  in- 
cluding Jinasena  and  Gunabhadra,  who  enjoyed  the  favour 
of  more  than  one  monarch,  had  much  to  do  with  the  marked 
decay  of  Buddhism,  which  daily  lost  ground,  until  it  almost 
wholly  disappeared  from  the  Deccan  in  the  twelfth  century. 

The  brief  reign  of  Indra  III  (a.d.  914!-16)  is  signalized  by  a.d.  914- 
his  successful  attack  upon  distant  Kanauj,  and  the  consequent  j^^j.^  jjj 
temporary  dethronement  of  Mahipala,  king  of  Panchala, 
the  most  considerable  prince  in  Northern  India.  This  war 
probably  deprived  Mahipala  of  Surashtra  and  the  other 
western  provinces  which  were  still  under  his  control  at  the 
time  of  the  accession  of  Indra  III.^ 

The  war  with  the  Cholas  in  the  reign  of  Krishna  IIIa.  d.  949. 
Rashtrakuta,  was  remarkable  for  the  death  of   Rajaditya,  ^\^^ 
the  Chola  king,  on  the  field  of  battle  hi  a.d.  949.     Much  kiUed. 
bitterness  was  introduced  into  the  wars  of  this  period  by  the 
hostility  between  the  rival  religions,  Jainism  and  orthodox 
Hinduism. 

The  last  of  the  Rashtrakuta  kings  was  Kakka  II,  over- a.d.  973. 

'  Deoli  plates  {Ep.  hid.,  v,  193,  1.  18).     Dr.  Fleet  erroneously  ascribes 
the  foundation  of  Manyakheta  to  Govinda  III. 
-  Cambay  plates  {Ep.  /nc?.  ,'vii,  36;  List,  No.  91) ;  ante,  p.  380. 


430 


THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 


kyas. 


Pre- 
eminence 
of  the 
Rashtra- 
kutas. 


Restora-  thrown  ill  A.D.  973  by  Tuilu^  or  Taihipu  II,  a  scion  of  the 
Chalu-  *^^  ^^^  Chalukya  stocky  wlio  restored  the  family  of  his  ancestors 
to  its  former  glory,  and  founded  the  dynasty  known  as 
that  of  the  Chalukyas  of  Kalyani ;  Mhich  lasted,  like  that 
which  it  superseded^  for  nearly  two  centuries  and  a  quarter. 
The  conquest  of  Sind  by  Muhammad  son  of  Kasim^  early 
in  the  eighth  century,  firmly  established  the  political  pre- 
dominance of  Islam  in  that  province,  which  was  separated 
from  India  proper  by  the  '  lost  river ',  the  Hakra  or  Wahindah. 
The  Gurjara  kingdom  of  Bhinmal  to  the  east  of  that  river 
■was  imited  with  that  of  Kanauj  from  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  century,  and  maintained  relations  of  chronic  hostility 
with  its  Muslim  neighbours  on  the  west  of  the  great  stream. 
But  the  Rashtrakuta  princes  found  their  interest  to  lie  in 
the  pursuit  of  a  different  policy,  and  kept  up  friendly  inter- 
course with  the  Arabs,  Avhile  continually  engaged  in  war  with 
the  Gurjaras.  In  consequence  of  this  policy  many  Muham- 
madan  merchants  and  travellers  visited  the  western  region  of 
India,  of  whom  some,  beginning  with  the  merchant  Sulaiman 
in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  have  left  a  record  of  their 
observations.  All  these  writers  agree  in  stating  that  they 
regarded  the  Balhara  as  the  greatest  sovereign  in  India. 
They  called  the  Rashtrakuta  kings  '  Balhara '  because  those 
princes  were  in  the  habit  of  assuming  the  title  Vallabha 
('  Beloved,'  Bien  aime),  which,  in  combination  with  the  word 
Rai  (prince),  was  easily  corrupted  into  the  form  of  Balhara.^ 
The  tribute  of  honour  paid  to  the  Rashtrakuta  kings  by 
their  Muhammadan  visitors  was  justified  by  the  achieve- 
ments of  their  period.  Although  the  art  displayed  at  EUora 
may  not  be  of  the  highest  kind,  the  Kailasa  temple  is  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  world,  a  work  of  which  any  nation 
might   be   pi'oud,  and   an  honour  to  the  king  under  whose 


^  The  epithet  or  title  valhthha, 
used  either  singly  or  in  composition 
with  a  noun  like  irl  or  prithivi,  was 
borrowed  by  the  Rashtrakutasfroni 
the  preceding  dynasty,  the  Cha- 
lukyas of  Vatapi.  Muhammadan 
authors  usually  describe  a  Hindu 
king  as    Jidi  or   Hue  {Bom,    Oaz. 


(1896),  vol.  1,  part  ii,  p.  209).  The 
accounts  of  the  early  Arab  geogra- 
phers and  the  historians  of  Sind 
are  translated  in  Elliot,  Hist,  of 
India,  vol.  i.  Prof.  R.  G.  Bhan- 
darkar  was  the  first  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  '  Balhara '. 


CHALUKYA   RESTORATION  4Sl 

patronage  it  was  executed.  Many  other  temples  were  the 
outcome  of  the  royal  munificence^  and  Sanskrit  literature  of 
the  artificial  type  then  in  fashion  was  liherally  encouraged. 

Taila,  the  restorer  of  the  Ciialukya  name,  reigned  for  a.  d.  995. 
twenty-four  years,  and  during  that  time  succeeded  in  recover-  ^^  Munja 
ing  all  the  ancient  territory  of  his  race,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Gujarat  province.  Mucii  of  his  time  was  spent  in 
fighting  Munja,  the  Pa  war  (Paramara)  Raja  of  Dhara,  who 
claimed  the  victory  in  six  conflicts.  Towards  the  close  of 
his  reign  Taila  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  revenge.  His  enemy, 
having  crossed  the  Godavari,  which  then  formed  the  boundary 
between  the  two  kingdoms,  was  defeated,  taken  captive,  and 
for  a  time  treated  with  the  courtesy  due  to  his  rank.  But  an 
attempt  to  escape  was  visited  with  cruel  indignities,  the 
captive  raja  being  forced  to  beg  from  door  to  door,  and 
ultimately  beheaded.  These  events  may  be  dated  in 
A.D.  995.^ 

Two  years  later  Taila  died,  and  transmitted  the  crown  to  c-a.d.iooo. 
1  •  CI  ^      •  1  •         1      /-11     1    1        1  •        1         Invasion 

his  son  Satyasraya,  dunng  whose  reign  the  Lhalukya  kingdom  by  Raja- 
suffered  severely  from  invasion  by  the  Chola  king,  Rajaraja  '""J'^  Chola. 
the  Great,  who  overran  the  country  with  a  vast  host,  said 
to    number    nine    hundred    thousand    men,    pillaging    and 
slaughtering  in  a  fashion  so  merciless  that  even  the  women, 
children,  and  Brahmans  were  not  spared. 

In  A.D.  1052,  Somesvara  I,  who  was  called  Ahavamalla,  a.d.  io25. 
fought  a  battle  at  Koppam,  on  the  Tungabhadra,  in  which  Raja- 
Rajadhiraja,   the  then   reigning  Chola  king,  lost  his  life.^  pu  ^^■'* 
Somesvara  also  claims  the  honour  of  having  stormed  both 
Dhara  in  Malwa  and  Kanchi  in  the  south,  and  of  having 
defeated  Kama,  the  valiant  king  of  Chedi. 

In  A.D.  1068,  Somesvara,  being  seized  by  an  incurable  fever,  a.d.  1068. 
put  an  end  to  his  sufferings  by  drowning  himself  in  the  Tunga-  gomes- 
bhadra  river,  while  reciting  his   faith  in   Siva.     Suicide  in  vara 
such  circumstances  is  authorized  by  Hindu  custom,  and  more 

1  Ante,  p.  395.  1052  is  determined  by  Prof.  Kiel- 

^  Dr.  Fleet,  apparently  in  error,  horn.     Koppam  on  the  Tungabha- 

dates  the  battle  of  Koppam  '  shortly  dra,  not   the   village   of  the  same 

before    the    20th    January,    1060 '  name  on  the  Palar,  seems  to  be  the 

{Kanarese  Dyn.,  p.  441).    The  date  site  of  the  battle. 


432        THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   DECCAN 

than  one  instance  is  on  record  of  rajas  having  terminated 

their  existence  in  a  simihir  manner. 

A.  D.  1076        Vikramaditya  VI,  or  A^ikramanka,  tlie  hero  of  Bilhana's 

to  1126.  J  '  > 

Reign  of    historical  poem,  who  deposed  his  brother  Somes  vara  II,  and 

^  I .  ,*'        came  to  the  throne  in  a.  d.  1076,  reiif ned  for  half  a  century  in 
manka.  ^       o  : 

tolerable,  though  not  unbroken,  peace.     He  is  recorded  to 
have  captured  Kanchi,  and  late  in  his  reign  was  engaged 
in  a  serious    struggle  with  Vishnu,  the    Hoysala   king   of 
Dorasamudra  in  Mj'sore.    Vikramfinka  considered  his  achieve- 
ments   sufficiently   notable   to   justify   him   in    establishing 
a  new  era,  running  from  a.d.  1076,  called  after  his  name, 
but  it  never  came  into  general  use.     His  capital  Kalyana, 
the  modern  Kalyani  in  the  Nizam^s  dominions,  which  had 
been   founded   by  Somesvara   I,   was    the    residence  of   the 
celebrated  jurist  Vijnanesvara,  author  of  the  Mitakshara,  the 
chief  authority  on  Hindu  law  outside  of  Bengal.^ 
A.D.  lio6.       After   the   death    of   Vikramanka,    the   Chalukya   power 
tionoT       tleclined;    and   in  the   course  of   the  years  a.d.   1156-62, 
Bijjala.        during   the    reign    of    Taila    III,    the    commander-in-chief, 
Bijjala  or  Vijjana,  Kalachurya,  revolted  and  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  kingdom,  which  was  held  by  him  and  his  sons 
until  A.D.  1183,  M'hen  the  Chalukya  prince,  Somesvara  IV, 
succeeded  in  recovering  a  portion  of  his  ancestral  dominions 
from   the   successors   of    Bijjala.     But    he   was    not   strong 
enough  to  resist  the  attacks  of  encroaching  neighbours  ;  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  greater  part  of  his  kingdom 
had  been  absorbed  by  the  Yadavas  of  Devagiri  on  the  west, 
A.D.  1190,  and  tlie  Hoysalas  of  Dorasamudra  on  the  south.     The  end 
Chalukya   °^   ^'^^    Chalukya    dynasty    of    Kalyana    may    be    dated    in 
dynasty,     a.  d.  1190,  after  which  time   the   rajas  of  the   line   ranked 

merely  as  petty  chiefs. 

A.D.  1167.       The    brief   reign    of    Bijjala,   the    usurping    rebel,    which 

gayat         terminated  by  abdication  in  a.d.   1167,  was   marked   by  a 

sect.  religious  revolution  effected  by  a  revival  of  the  cult  of  Siva 

and    the    foundation    of   a    new    sect,   the    Vira    Saivas,   or 

Lingayats,  which  is  a  power  to  this  day.    Bijjala  was  a  Jain  ; 

^  See  Introduction  to  Biihler's  edition  of  the   Vikramdnkadevacharita, 
Bombay  Sanskrit  Series,  1875. 


DECAY   OF   JAINISM   AND   BUDDHISM     433 

and,  according  to  one  version  of  the  legend,  he  wantonly 
blinded  two  holy  men  of  the  Lingayat  sect,  and  was  assas- 
sinated in  consequence  in  the  year  a.d.  1167.  The  blood  of 
the  saints  proved,  as  usual,  to  be  the  seed  of  tiie  church, 
which  had  been  founded  by  Basava,  the  Brahman  minister  of 
Bijjala.  But  in  other  legends  the  tale  is  told  quite  differently, 
and  the  truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  past  finding  out. 
There  is,  however,  no  doubt  that  the  rise  of  the  Lingayats 
dates  from  the  time  of  Bijjala.  The  members  of  the  sect, 
who  are  especially  numerous  in  the  Kanarese  districts, 
worship  Siva  in  his  phallic  form,  reject  the  authority  of  the 
Vedas,  disbelieve  in  the  doctrine  of  re-birth,  object  to  child- 
marriage,  approve  of  the  re-marriage  of  widows,  and  cherish 
an  intense  aversion  to  Brahmans,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  founder  of  their  religion  was  himself  a  Brahman. 

The  growth  of  this  new  sect,  which  secured  numerous  Decay  of 
adherents   among  the  trading  classes,  up  to  that  time  the  ^^j^j 
main  strength  of  both  Buddhism  and  Jainism,  checked  the  Buddhism, 
progress  of  the  latter  religion,  and  drove  another  nail  into 
the  coffin  of  Buddhism,  the  existence  of  which  in  the  Deccan 
is  rarely  traceable  later  than  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth 
century.^ 

During  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  chiefs  belong-  The  Iloy- 
ing  to  a  family  or  clan  named  Hoysala,  or  Poysala,  attained  dynasty 
considerable  power  in  the  Mysore  countrj^    The  first  notable  of  Dorasa- 
independent  prince  of    this  line  was  Bittideva,   or    Bittiga 
(about  A.D.  1111  to  1141),  who  established  his  capital  at 
Dorasamudra,    the    modern    Halebid,    famous   for   the    fine 
temple  which  excited  Mr.  Fergusson's  enthusiastic  admira- 
tion.    During  the  early  years  of  his  reign  the  Jain  religion 
enjoyed  high  favour  under  the   protection  of  his   minister 
Gangaraja,  and  the  Jain  temples,  which  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  orthodox  Chola  invaders,  were  restored ;  but  the  king 
himself  was  converted  to  Vishnuism,  under  the  influence  of 
the   celebrated   reformer,    Ramanuja,  and   the   magnificent 

1  There  are  nuraerous_ references  rous  followers  of  Buddha  in  ^aka 

to  Buddhism   in   the  Achdrasdra.  1076'    (a.d.    1154)    (Pathak,   Ind. 

'This   clearly  shows    that   in   the  ^in^,  1912,  p.  89). 
Kanarese  country  there  were  nume- 

1626  F     f 


434 


THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 


A.D.   1173- 

1220. 
Vira- 
Ballala. 


A.D.  1310. 
End  of 
Hoysala 
dynasty. 


Yadava 
dynasty 
of  Deva- 
giri. 


A.D.  1210. 
Raja 
Singh- 
ana. 


buildings  at  Belur  and  Halebid  testify  to  the  zeal  and  good 
taste  which  he  devoted  to  tlie  serving  of  his  new  religion.^ 
On  liis  conversion  he  assumed  the  name  of  Vishnu-vardhana, 
or  Vishnu,  by  which  he  is  best  known.  Vishnu  boasts  in  his 
records  of  numerous  conquests,  and  claims  to  have  defeated 
the  rajas  of  the  Chola,  Pandya,  and  Chera  kingdoms  in  the 
south.  About  the  year  a.  d.  1223,  one  of  his  successors, 
Narasimha  II,  wlio  was  then  in  alliance  with  the  Cholas, 
actually  occupied  Trichinopoly.^ 

A^ishnu^s  grandson,  Vira-Ballala,  in  the  course  of  a  long 
reign  extended  his  dominions  widely  to  the  north  of  Mysore, 
and  was  specially  proud  of  having  defeated  the  Yadavas  of 
Devagiri,  whose  kingdom  lay  to  the  north,  in  a.d.  1191-2. 
His  conquests  made  the  Hoysalas  the  dominant  power  in 
Southern  India,  including  the  southern  parts  of  the  Deccan 
table-land. 

The  dynasty  continued  to  be  powerful  imtil  a.d.  1310, 
when  the  Muhammadan  generals,  Malik  Kafur  and  Khwaja 
Haji  entered  the  Hoysala  kingdom,  laid  it  waste,  captured 
the  reigning  raja,  and  despoiled  his  capital,  which  was  finally 
destroyed  by  a  Muslim  force  in  a.d.  1326  or  1327.  The 
raja's  son  is  mentioned  as  a  local  chief  in  records  a  few 
years  later  in  date. 

The  Yadava  kings  of  Devagii-i  were  descendants  of  feuda- 
tory nobles  of  the  Chalukya  kingdom.  The  territory  which 
they  acquired,  lying  betAveen  Devagiri  (Daulatabad)  and 
Nasik,  was  known  as  Sevana  or  Seuna.  The  first  of  the 
Yadava  line  to  attain  a  position  of  importance  was  Bhillama, 
who  was  killed  in  battle  by  the  Hoysala  chief  in  a.d.  1191. 

The  most  powerful  raja  was  Singhana  {ace.  a.d.  1210), 
who  invaded  Gujarat  and  other  countries,  and  established 
a  short-lived  kingdom  almost  rivalling  in  extent  the  realms 
of  the  Chalukyas  and  Rashtrakfitas. 

'  Fergusson  and  Meadows  Taylor, 
ji  rchitecture  in  DhnrwriraiidMi/Kore, 
atlas  folio  (Murray,  18«6).'  For 
much  detailed  information  about 
Vishnu's  reign  and  buildings,  see 
Mr.  riice's  Introduction  to /s^i.  Cam., 
vol.  V,  p.  i,  especially  p.  xxxvi.     Mr. 


S.  K.  Aiyangar  has  given  a  good 
accoimt  of  the  Hoysalas  in  his 
lecture  *  The  Making  of  Mysore ' 
(Madras,  1903),  reprinted  in  ^ncieti^ 
India,  1911. 

^  Ep.  Ind.,  vii,  16*2. 


MUHAMMADAN   INVASIONS  435 

The  Yadava  dynasty,  like  that  of  the  Hoysahis^  was  do-  a.d.  I29k 
stroyed  hy  the  Muhammadans.    When  Ala-ud-din,  Sultan  of  Sultan 
Delhi,  crossed  the  Narniada,  the  northern   frontier  of   the  ^la-ud- 
Yadava  kingdom,  in  1294<,  the  reigning  raja,  Rainachandra, 
was  obliged  to  surrender,  and  to  ransom  his  life  by  payment 
of  an  enormous  amount  of  treasure,  which  is  said  to  have 
included   six   hundred   maunds   of    pearlsj   two   maunds   of 
diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  and  sapphires,  and  so  forth. 

When  the  Sultan's  incursion  was  repeated  by  Malik  Kafur  a.d.  130!). 
in  A.D.  1309,  Ramachandra  again  refrained  from  opposition,  Kafur. 
and  submitted  to  the  invader.  He  was  the  last  independent 
Hindu  sovereign  of  the  Deccan.  In  wide  territories  to  the 
south  of  the  Krishna  (Kistna),  the  kingdom  of  Vijayanagar, 
founded  in  a.d.  1336,  maintained  the  traditions  of  Hindu 
polity  in  unsurpassed  splendour  luitil  1565,  when  it  was 
overwhelmed  by  a  coalition  of  Muhammadan  princes. 

After    Ramachandra's   death,    his    son-in-law,   Harapala,  a-"-  1^18. 
stirred  up  a  revolt  against  the  foreigners  in  1318,  but,  being  Yadava 
defeated,  was  flayed  alive  and  decapitated.     Thus  miserably  dynasty, 
ended  the  Yadava  line.^ 

The  celebrated  Sanskrit  writer,  Hemadri,  popularly  known  Hemadri, 
as  Hemadpant,  flourished  during  the  reigns  of  Ramachandra  niadpant. 
and  his  predecessor,  Mahadeva.  He  devoted  himself  chiefly 
to  the  systematic  redaction  of  Hindu  religious  practices  and 
observances,  and  with  this  object  compiled  important  works 
upon  Hindu  sacred  law\  He  is  alleged,  although  erroneously, 
to  have  introduced  a  form  of  current  script,  the  Modi,  from 
Ceylon ;  ^  and  has  given  a  valuable  historical  sketch  of  his 
patrons'  dynasty  in  the  introduction  to  one  of  his  books. 

*  The   latest  information    about  AvajT,  Secretary  of  State  to  Sivaji, 

the  Hoysala  and  Yadava  dynasties  the  celebrated  Maratha  chieftain, 

will  be  found  in  Rice,  Mysore  and  who  died  in    1680  (B.   A.  Gupte, 

Coorg  from  the  Inscriptions,  1909.  Ind.  Ant.,  1905,  p.  27.  Sir  G.  Grier- 

2  "the  Modi  script  really  was  in-  son  p^ives  the  alphabet  in  Linguistic 

vented    or    introduced    by    Balajl  Survey,  vol.  vii,  p.  20). 


Ff  2 


436 


THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 


APPENDIX   P 


The  Principal  Dynasties  of  the  Deccan  ^ 

/.      The  Clmlukija  Kings  of  Vdldpi  {Badami),  a.  d.  550-753. 


Serial 
No. 

Name. 

Approxi- 
mate date 
ofAcc.x.rt. 

550 

ICnown  epigraphic 
dates. 

I 

Pulakesin  I  (Satyasraya,  Rana- 

NU.      (The  title  or 

vikrama,  Vallabha) 

epithet  vallabha 
is  used  some- 
times alone, 
sometimes  in 
cpmposition  with 
SrT,   &c.) 

11 

Kirtivarraan  I  (Vallabha,  Rana- 
parakrama,  &c.) 

566-7 

578 

111 

Mangalesa      (Vallabha,     Rana- 
vikranta,  &c.) 

597-8 

601-2 

IV 

Pulakesin  II   (VaUabha,  Satya- 

608 

612,  634;  crowned 

sraya,  &c.) 

[Interrup- 
tion from 
642  to  655] 

609 

V 

Vikramaditya       I       (Vallabha, 

Satyasraya,  &c.) 

655 

659 

VI 

Vinayaditya    (Satyasraya,   Val- 
labha, &c.) 

683 

689,  691,  692,  694 

VII 

Vijayaditya  (Satyasraya,  &c'.) 

696 

699,  700,  705,  709 

VIII 

Vikramaditya  II  (Anivarita,&c.) 

733 

735  (?) 

IX 

Kirtivarraan  II  ^Nripasirhharaja, 

746 

754,  757.     (In  753 

&c.) 

the  Rashtrakuta 
conquest  occur- 
red, and  Kirtivar- 
raan sank  to  the 
level  of  a  local 
raja) 

*  Only  the  main  lines  are  shown, 
collateral  and  local  branches  being 
oraitted.  The  lists  now  given  are 
abstracted  from  those  published  by 
Prof.    Kielhorn   in   Ep.    Ind.,  viii. 


App.  ii  (1906),  and  begin  with  the 
real  founder  of  each  dynasty,  not 
with  the  serai-mythical  names  head- 
ing the  genealogies. 


DYNASTIC   TABLES 


437 


//.   The  Rashlrahda  Kings  of  Munyakheta  (^Malkhed),  a.  d.  753-973. 


Name. 


Dantidurga  (KhaHgavaloka,  &c) 
Krishna  I  (Akalavarsha,  &c.) 

Govinda  II  (^Prabhutavarsha,  &c. ) 
Dhruva  (Nirupama,  ^rlvallabha, 

borrowed  from  the  Chalukyas, 

&c.) 
Govinda    III    (Prabhutavarsha, 

&c.) 
Amoghavarsha    I    (Nripatunga, 

&c.) 
Krishnall  (Krishnavallabha,  &cO 
Indra  III  (Nityavarsha,  &c.) 
Amoghavarsha  II 
Govinda  IV  ^Suvarnavarsha,&c.) 
Amoghavarsha II I  (Baddiga,  &c.) 
Krishna  III  (Kannara,  &c.) 
Khottiga  (Nityavarsha,  &c.) 
Kakkall  (Kakkalla,  &c.) 


ApproTi-  j  j^noion  epigraphic 
mate  date  \  ^JJ 

ojAcc.A.u,] 


753 

753 

760 

770  (Govinda  ywrrt- 

rdja) 

775 

779 

780 

783     (Jain     Ilari- 

vai'nm) 

793 

791,  sot,  808,  813 

815 

817-77 

880 

902-11 

9Ii2 

914,  916 

916-7 

Nil 

917 

918-33 

935 

Nil 

940 

940-61 

965 

971 

972 

972,973.   f  Restora- 

tion   of    Chahi- 

kyas  by  Taila  in 

973) 

///.      The  Chaluki/a  Kings  of  Kalyani  (Kalyana),  a.d.  973-1190. 


Name. 

Approxi- 
mate date 

of  Ace.  A.D. 

973 

Known  epigraphic 
dates. 

Taila  II  (Tailapa,  Ahavamalla, 

993-97 

&c.) 

Satyasraya  (Sattiga,  &c.) 

997 

1002,  1008 

Vikramaditya    V    (Tribhuvana- 

1009 

1009 

malla) 

Jaya^iriiha  II  fJagadekamalla  I) 

1016 

1018  (?)- 1040 

Soraesvara  I  (Ahavamalla,  &c.) 

1042 

1044-68 

Somesvara  II  (Bhuvanaikamalla) 

1075 

1071-5 

Vikramaditya  VI  (Vikramarka, 

&c.) 
Somesvara  III  (Bhulokamalla) 

1075-6 

1077-1125 

1125-6 

1128,  1130 

Perma-Jagadekamalla  II 

1138 

1139,  1149 

Taila    III    (Tailapa,   Trailokya- 

1149 

1154,  1155 

malla,  &c.) 

Somesvara      IV       (Tribhuvana- 

1163 

1184,1189.  (Usurp- 

raalia, &c.) 

ation  of  Bijjala 
Kalachurya  in 
1156-62; 'he  ab- 
dicated in  1167, 
his  descendants 
continuing  until 
1183  as  rivals  of 
Soraei^vara  IV) 

CHAPTER   XVI 

THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 
SECTION   I 

The  '  Three  Kingdoms  ' 

The  Tamil      SOUTHERN  India,  Jis  distinguished  from  the  plateau  of  the 
country,  .        .     .  *" 

Deccan,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  Krishna  (Kistna) 

and  Tungabhadra  rivers,  lias  a  character  of  its  own,  and  a 

history  generally  independent  of  that  of  the  rest  of  India. 

This  extensive  region  may  be  described  in  modern  terms  as 

consisting  of  the  Madras  Presidency,  excluding  the  ^Northern 

Circars'  Districts  of  Vizagapatam  and  Ganjam,  and  with  the 

addition  of  the  native  states  of  Mysore,  Cochin,  and  Travan- 

core.     It  is  essentially  the  land  of  the  Tamil  race  and  speech^ 

and  accordingly  the  greater  portion  of  it  was  known  in  ancient 

times   as  Tamilakam,   or  the  Tamil  country.     The  earliest 

tradition  fixed  the  northern  boundary  of  Tamilakam  on  the 

east  coast  at  Pulicat,  a  little  above  Madras,  and  on  the  Mest 

coast  at  the  White  Rock  near  Badagara,  to  the  south  of 

Mahe,  the  frontier  line  between  those  two  points  passing 

round  by  the  hill  of  Venkata  or  Tirupathi,   100  miles  to 

the  north-west  of  Madras,  and  then    inclining  southwards 

to  Badagara.'     Later  traditions  extended  the  north-eastern 

boundary  as  far  as  Nellore  on  the  N.  Pennar  river, '^  and  tiie 

north-western  limit  to  the  Chandragiri  river  south  of  Manga- 

lore.^     This  chapter  is  concerned  only  with  the  Tamil  states 

and  the  Pallava  dynasty.    The  dynasties  of  Mysore  Ikuc  been 

treated  in  Ciiapter  XV,  being   closely   connected  with  the 

kingdoms  of  the  Deccan  plateau. 

Damirike       The  Greek  geographer   Ptolemy,  who  wrote  his  treatise 

Ptolemy,    'i^^out  A.D.  140,  was  well  acquainted  with  Southern  India, 

'  The  Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred  '  The  Chandragiri  is  the  boundary 

Years  A(fo,  Y>\>.  \0,  \1 .  between    Kerala   and  the   Tuluva 

"  Elliot,  Cobis  of  Southern  India,  country, 
p.  108. 


STATE   OF   SOCIETY  439 

which  he  called  Damirike,  a  good  transliteration  of  Taniilukam, 
r  and  I  being  interchangeable,  but  unfortunately  corrupted 
in  the  manuscripts  into  the  unmeaning  form  Limyrike,  owing 
to  the  frequent  confusion  between  A  and  A.^  In  his  time 
one  language  only,  the  Tamil,  was  spoken  over  the  whole 
area ;  Malayalam,  now  the  speech  of  Malabar,  not  having 
been  developed  as  a  separate  tongue  until  some  centuries 
later.  The  population  comprised  various  elements,  of  which 
the  Villavar,  or  bowmen  (Bhils),  and  Minavar,  or  fishermen 
(Minas),  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  most  ancient.  The 
Tamils  seem  to  be  later  immigrants. 

The  early  Tamil  poetical  literature,  dating,  according  to  Ancient 
competent  expert  opinion,  from  the  first  three  centuries  of  society 
the  Christian  era,  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  state  of  society 
at  that  period.  The  Tamils  had  developed  an  advanced 
civilization  of  their  own,  wholly  independent  of  Northern 
India.  Immigrants  from  the  North,  who  had  settled  at 
Madura  and  some  other  cities,  sought  to  introduce  Hindu 
notions  of  caste  and  ceremonial,  but  met  with  much  oppo- 
sition, and  the  caste  system,  which  for  many  centuries  past 
has  been  observed  with  special  strictness  in  the  South,  was 
then  inchoate  and  imperfect.^  The  prevailing  religion  was  a 
form  of  ^  demon-worship ',  which  still  survives  under  new 
names.  For  example,  the  most  powerful  demoness  of  the 
southern  races,  Kottavai,  '  the  Victorious,^  has  now  taken  her 
place  in  the  Hindu  pantheon  as  Uma  or  Durga,  the  consort 
of  Siva.3 

In  addition  to  the  three  principal  kingdoms,  which  will  be  Inter- 
described  presently,   about  a  hundred  and  twenty  more  or  "a^^fe^e 
less   independent  chieftains   shared   the  government  of  the 
country,  and  indulged  in  unceasing  internecine  ^^'ars,  ^aged 

1  Ptolemy,  bk.  vii,  ch.  1,85;  Pim-a-nCinnurru  {J.  R.  A.  S.,l%99, 
transl.  McCrindle,  /«(i.  ^n«.,  xiii,  p.  242).  Dr.  Pope  was  not  so  decided 
367.  The  Peutingerian  Tables  cor-  in  opinion  concerning  the  early  date 
rectly  give  the  name  as  Damirike  of  the  literature  as  South  Indian 
{ind.  Ant.,  viii,  144).  scholars   are,  but  subsequent  dis- 

2  The  Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred  cussion  seems  to  establish  the  high 
Years  Ago,  pp.  3,  10,  39.  antiquity    of    the    great    classical 

3  Pope,  'Extracts  from  the  Tamil  works  in  Tamil. 
Purra-porul  Venba-Malai,  and  the 


440         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

M'ith  exceptional  ferocity  by  the  agency  of  the  aboriginal 
tribesmen,  whose  representatives,  the  Maravar,  Kalhir,  and 
others,  still  form  an  important  and  turbulent  element  in  the 
population,  *  These  desolating  wars ',  Dr.  Pope  observes, 
*  account  for  the  multitudes  of  deserted  strongholds  whose 
ruins  are  yet  to  be  seen,  and  for  the  comparative  sparseness 
of  the  population  at  the  period  when  authentic  history 
begins.' 

Religion.  The  aboriginal  '  devil  worship ',  exposed  to  the  persistent 
attacks  of  the  three  northern  religions — Jainism,  Buddlusm, 
and  Hinduism — M'as  gradually  forced  into  the  background, 
and  constrained  to  veil  itself  behind  the  names  and  forms  of 

Jainisra.  the  more  respectable  faiths.  The  introduction  of  Jainism  into 
the  South  was  effected,  according  to  Jain  tradition,  bj^  a  body 
of  emigrants  who  were  driven  out  of  the  North  from  their 
homes  by  the  pressure  of  a  twelve  years'  famine,  in  the  reign 
of  Chandragupta  Maurya.  The  event  is  assigned  by  some 
authorities  to  309  B.C.  The  strangers  settled  at  Sravana 
Belgola  in  Mysore,  where  their  sainted  leader,  Bhadrabahu, 
starved  himself  to  death  in  the  approved  Jain  manner.  The 
present  head  of  the  ancient  Jain  settlement  at  Sravana  Belgola 
claims  to  be  the  successor  of  Bhadrabahu  and  is  recognized 
as  the  pontiff  of  all  the  Jains  of  Southern  India.  The  story 
is  associated,  as  we  have  seen  [ante,  p.  146),  with  statements 
concerning  the  last  days  of  Chandragupta  Mavu-ya  which  are 
discredited  by  some  and  accepted  by  other  critics.  Whatever 
may  be  the  truth  concerning  the  alleged  abdication  and 
suicide  of  the  Maurya  emperor,  no  sufficient  reason  seems  to 
exist  for  rejecting  the  tradition  of  the  Jain  immigration, 
which  brought  the  religion  of  Mahavira  to  the  South  half 
a  century  before  Buddhist  missionaries  appeared.  Samprati, 
a  grandson  of  Asoka,  is  said  to  have  been  converted  by 
Suhastin,  and  to  have  sent  many  missionaries  to  preach 
Jainism  in  the  Peninsula,  where  his  creed  undoubtedly  secured 
such  wide  acceptance  that  Mr.  Ilice  is  justified  in  affirming 
that  during  the  first  millennium  of  the  Christian  era  Jainism 
may  be  regarded  as  having  been  the  predominant  religion  of 
Mysore.     Nor  was  it  confined  to  Mjsore ;  it  spread  e\'ery- 


BUDDHISM   AND   CASTE  441 

where  more  or  less.^  In  the  Pandya  country  the  decline  of 
Jainism  began  in  the  seventh  century,  but  the  religion  con- 
tinued to  flourish  in  Mysore  and  the  Deccan  for  ages  after 
that  time. 

The  effective  importation  of  Buddhism  undou])tedly  was  the  Buddhism, 
work  of  Asoka's  brother  Mahendra  and  the  other  missionaries 
sent  out  by  the  great  proselytizing  emperor  in  tiie  middle  of 
the  third  century  b.  c.  {ante,  p.  184).  The  imperial  religion  does 
not  seem  to  have  become  at  any  time  the  dominant  creed 
of  the  South,  although  it  attained  a  considerable  amount  of 
popularity  during  several  centuries.  In  the  seventh  century 
of  the  Christian  era  it  was  dying  out,  overshadowed  by  botli 
Jainism  and  Hinduism.  After  that  date  those  two  faiths 
almost  exclusively  disputed  the  field,  often  with  great  bitter- 
ness and  ferocity.  The  early  southern  Buddhism  ignored 
caste,  but  the  mysterious  and  insidious  power  of  the  Brahman- 
ical  organization  was  too  much  for  it,  and  won  the  day. 
The  rules  of  caste  are  now  enforced  in  the  South  with  far 
greater  rigour  than  in  the  North.  It  is  not  possible  to  follow 
the  subject  further  in  this  place,  but  it  is  safe  to  affirm  that 
there  is  room  for  a  very  interesting  book  on  the  history  of 
the  conflict  of  religions  in  the  Tamil  and  Kanarese  country. 

Slavery  is  said  to  have  been  unknown  among  the  ancient  No 
Tamils.     The  statement  of  Megasthenes  that  ^  it  was  a  great  tJfJ'fl'^^' 

thing  that  all  Indians  were  free,  no  slave  existing  in  India  '  great  as- 

semblies. 
{ante,  pp.  100  n.,  178  n.),  probably  was  based  on  a  rash  genera- 
lization made  from  information  which  may  have  been  strictly 
true  for  parts  of  the  South.^  His  strange  enumeration  of  the 
seven  classes  of  the  population,  usually  mistranslated  '  castes  % 
as  being  (1)  philosophers,  (2)  agriculturists,  (3)  herdsmen, 
shepherds,  and  graziers ;  (4)  artisans  and  traders,  (5)  the  mili- 
tary, (6)  the  overseers,  and  (7)  the  councillors  {ante,  p.  134  «.), 
may  be  compared  with  the  list  of  th.e  '  five  great  assemblies ', 

1  For  Jain  historical  traditions,  writers ;    also    Rice,    Mysore    and 

with  varying  systems  of  chronology,  Coory  from  the  Inscrlidions. 

see  Jacobi   in   S.B.E.,  vol.   xxii,  ^  jhe   statement  is   not   true   if 

and  many   articles   in   the  Indian  applied     to     Malabar    or    Kerala 

Antiquary,  vols,  ii,  ix,  xi,  xiii,  xvii,  (Dubois,  Hindu  Manners,  Customs, 

XX,  and  x'xi,  by  Hoernle  and  other  and    Ceremonies,   by    Beauchamp, 

third  ed.,  p.  56). 


442        THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   SOUTH 

which  checked  the  autocracy  of  Tamil  kings,  and  com- 
prised the  people,  priests,  astrologers,  physicians,  and 
ministers.^ 
War  and  The  frequency  and  savagery  of  the  internecine  wars 
peace.  described  in  the  old  literature  might  seem  to  justify  the 
opinion  that  the  arts  of  peace  and  the  amenities  of  civil  life 
must  have  been  wholly  neglected  in  the  ancient  Tamil  states. 
But  such  an  inference  would  be  erroneous,  for  there  is  no 
doubt  that  poetry  and  other  refined  arts  were  carried  to  a 
high  degree  of  excellence,  and  that  the  dwellers  in  the  cities, 
at  all  events,  enjoyed  all  the  luxuries  which  wealth  could 
purchase.  In  this  matter,  too,  an  observation  of  Mega- 
sthenes  helps  us  to  understand  the  apparent  contradiction 
between  a  state  of  incessant  war  and  the  existence  of  a  rich 
trading  and  agricultural  community  of  peaceful  citizens. 

'  The  second  class ',  the  Greek  ambassador  noted,  '  consists 
of  the  husbandmen,  who  form  the  bulk  of  the  population, 
and  are  in  disposition  most  mild  and  gentle.  They  are 
exempted  from  military  service,  and  cultivate  their  lands 
undisturbed  by  fear.  They  never  go  to  town,  either  to  take 
part  in  its  tumults,  or  for  any  other  purpose.  It  therefore 
not  unfrequently  happens  that  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the 
same  part  of  the  country,  men  may  be  seen  drawn  up  in  array 
of  battle,  and  fighting  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  while  other 
men  close  at  hand  are  ploughing  and  digging  in  perfect 
securit}',  having  these  soldiers  to  protect  them.' 

This  pretty  picture  may  be  a  little  overdrawn,  although  we 
may  accept  as  true  the  statement  that  in  the  India  known  to 
Megasthenes  the  fighting  ordinarily  was  done  by  professional 
soldiers,  who  interfered  little  with  the  work  of  the  harmless 
and  necessary  peasant.  The  fortified  towns  too,  as  a  rule, 
were  protected  by  their  gates  and  walls  from  the  injuries 
of  war,  and  only  on  rare  occasions  suffered  the  horrors  of  a 
sack.  Thus  it  was  possible  for  the  Tamils,  like  the  mediaeval 
Florentines  and  Pisans,  to  have  their  fill  of  fighting  and  still 
pay  a  close  attention  to  careful  farming  and  lucrative  trade. 
Pepper,  Tamil  Land  had  the  good  fortune  to  possess  three  precious 

^  The  Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred  Years  Ago,  pp.  108,  114. 


PEPPER,   PEARLS,    AND   BERYLS  443 

commodities  not  procurable  elsewhere,  namely,  pepper,  pearls,  peark,  and 
and  beryls.  Pepper  fetched  an  enormous  price  in  the  markets 
of  Europe,  and  was  so  higiily  prized  that  when  Alaric  the 
Goth  levied  his  war  indemnity  from  Rome,  in  a.  d.  409,  his 
terms  included  the  delivery  of  3,000  pounds  of  pepper.^  The 
pearl  fishery  of  the  soutiicrn  sea,  which  still  is  productive 
and  valuable,  had  been  worked  for  untold  ages,  and  always 
had  attracted  a  crowd  of  foreign  merchants.  The  beryl  or 
aquamarine  gem,  which,  as  Pliny  truly  observed,  is  closely 
related  to  the  emerald,  was  highly  esteemed  by  both  Indians 
and  Romans,  and  often  furnished  material  for  the  choicest 
achievements  of  the  eiigra\er's  art.  Its  scarcity,  except  in 
India,  tempted  clever  Indian  forgers  to  fabricate  imitations 
made  from  rock-crystal.  Three  Indian  mines  are  recorded, 
namely,  (1)  Punnata,  where  Ptolemy  noted  that  beryl  was 
found,  close  to  Kittur  on  the  Kabbani  river,  a  tributary  of  the 
Kaviri  (Cauvery)  in  tlie  south-west  of  Mysore ;  (2)  Padiyur 
or  Pattiali,  40  miles  ESE.  from  the  town  of  Coimbatore, 
Avhere  a  mine  was  worked  successfully  as  late  as  1820 ;  and 
(3)  Vaniyambadi,  in  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the  Salem 
District,  not  far  from  the  Kolar  gold-field.  The  large  and 
numerous  hoards  of  Roman  gold  coins  found  in  the  districts 
where  the  mines  were  situated,  testify  to  the  activity  of  ancient 
commerce  in  the  gems  of  Southern  India.  The  fact  that  the 
mineral  corundum,  a  variety  of  the  ruby  and  sapphire,  found 
abundantly  in  Salem  and  Coimbatore,  bears  a  purely  Tamil 
name  {kurrandam),  affords  another  indication  of  the  famili- 
arity of  ancient  Europe  with  the  products  of  the  Indian  gem 
mines.^ 

'  Gibbon,  ch.  xxxi.  of  novwara,  which   in  the   second 

"^  References  for  the  beryl  trade  edition   I  wrongly   identified  witli 

are :     Uovwcna      kv      ^     0T)pv\\o9,  Padiyur,  following   Sewell,  is  due 

Ptolemy,    Geo(/r.,    Bk.'    vii,   ch.    i,  to    Mr.    Lewis    Rice.      Ptolemy's 

86,  transl.  in  Ind.  Ant.,  xiii,  367  ;  name,PoMmm^a,isanaccuratetran- 

Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  Bk.  xxxvii,  ch.  scription  of  Punnata  (al.   Punadu 

V  ;  Walhouse,  '  Aquamarina  Gems,  or  Punnadu),an  ancient  principality 

Ancientand  Modern ',/«(?.  ^n^.,v,  mentioned  in  an  early  inscription, 

237,    with   a  full  account    of  the  perhaps  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  cen- 

PadiyQr  mine.     The  mine  at  Vani-  tury,  and  also  in  the  Brlhatkatha- 

yaiinbadi  rests  on  the  authority  of  ko^a  of  Harishena,  dated  a.d.  931. 

Mr.  R.'  Sewell  (/.  R.  A.  S.,  1904,  Kittur,  a   village   on  the  Kabbani 

p.  595).     The  correct  identification  river,   a   tributary    of  the   Kuvirl 


444 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 


Maritime 
coinnierce 
foreign 
settle- 
ments. 


Tlie  Tamil  states  maintained  powerful  navies,  and  were 
visited  freely  by  ships  from  both  east  and  \^est,  which  brought 
merchants  of  various  races  eager  to  buy  the  pearls,  pepper, 
beryls^  and  other  choice  commodities  of  India,  and  to  pay  for 
them  with  the  gold,  silver,  and  art  ware  of  Europe.  The 
Roman  aureus  circulated  in  Southern  India  as  freely  as  the 
English  sovereign  now  ptisses  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
and  Roman  bronze  small  change,  partly  imported  and  partly 
minted  at  Madura,  was  commonly  used  in  the  bazaars.^ 
There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  considerable  colonies  of 
Roman  subjects  engaged  in  trade  were  settled  in  Southern 
India  during  the  first  two  centuries  of  our  era,  and  that 
European  soldiers,  described  as  '  powerful  Yavanas,  dumb 
Mlechchhas  [barbarians],  clad  in  complete  armour,'  acted  as 
bodyguards  to  Tamil  kings,  while  '  the  beautiful  large  ships 
of  the  Yavanas^  lay  off  Muziris  (Cranganore)  to  receive  the 
cargoes  of  pepper  paid  for  by  Roman  gold.  It  is  e\'en 
stated,  and  no  doubt  truly,  that  a  temple  dedicated  to  Augustus 
existed  at  Muziris.  Another  foreign  (Yavana)  colony  Avas 
settled  at  Kaviripaddanam,  or  Puhar,  a  busy  port  situated  on 
the  eastern  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  northern  branch  of  the 
Kfiviri  (Cauvery)  river.  Both  town  and  harbour  disappeared 
long  since,  and  now  lie  buried  under  vast  mounds  of  sand.^ 
The  poems  tell  of  the  importation  of  Yavana  wines,  lamps, 
and  vases,  and  their  testimony  is  confirmed  by  tlie  discovery 
in  the  Nilgiri  megalithic  tond)s  of  numerous  bronze  vessels 
similar  to  those  knoMu  to  have  been  produced  in  Europe 
during  the  early  centuries  of  tlie  Christian  era,  and  hy  the 
statements  of  the  Perijilus? 


(Cauvery),  in  the  south-west  of 
Mysore,  represents  Kitthipura  or 
Kirtipura,  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
Punnuta  State  (Rice,  Mysore  and 
(U)t,ni  from  tlie  Iii.icriptiau.s  (1909  i, 
pp.  4,  10;  1)1(1.  Ant.,  xii,  13;  xviii, 
'M(i, .  Full  details  about  the  mines  of 
corundum  in  IJalfour,  Ci/rlop.,  s.v. 

'  Sewell,  '  Roman  Coins  found  in 
India,'  ./.  A'.  ./.  S.,  1904,  pp.  fif)l- 
'>:i7,  a  valuable  article.  See  especi- 
ally pp.  fi09-i:{. 

'■'  According  to  .Mr.  S.  K.  Aiyen- 


gar,  the  destruction  took  place  in 
the  first  quarter  of  the  third  century 
after  Christ  at  the  latest. 

*  The  Tamils  J'Jir/hteen  Hundred 
Years  J(/o,  pp.  IGJ  25,  'M,  36,  38. 
Puhar  is  also  written  Pugiir  or 
Pukar.  The  '  Peutingerian  Ta- 
bles', a  collection  of  ancient  maps 
believed  to  date  from  about  a.  d.  22(> 
(ed.  Scheyb,  1733;  Maniiert,  Leip- 
zig, 1824.;  Charles  Ruelens,  Hrussels, 
188 1  ;  Walker,  On  the  Tabula  J'ett- 
tlngeriana,     Cambridge,    1883,    in 


EARLY   LITERATURE   AND   ART  445 

So  far  as  I  can  judge^  the  scholars  who  maintain  the  early  Early- 
date  of  the  best  Tamil  poems  are  right,  and  the  '^  Augustan  ^n^'^art'^^ 
age^  of  Tamil  literature  may  be  placed  in  the  first  three 
centuries  of  the  Clu-istian  era.  One  authority  would  assign 
it  to  the  first  centur}^,  but  the  wider  limits  indicated  may 
be  accepted  with  some  confidence.^  Other  arts  besides 
poetry  were  cultivated  with  success,  including  music,  the 
drama,  painting,  and  sculpture ;  but  the  statues  and  pictures 
apparently  were  executed  in  perishable  materials,  and  have 
wholly  vanished.  The  plays  are  said  to  have  been  of  two 
kinds — the  Tamil  or  indigenous,  in  numerous  varieties,  which 
permitted  the  insertion  of  love  scenes ;  and  the  Aryan  or 
northern,  which  were  more  formal,  and  restricted  to  eleven 
stock  subjects. 

Such  was  the  state  of  civilization  in  the  three  Dravidian  or  Tlie 

Tamil   kingdoms  of  the   South    during    the   early  centuries  King- 

of   the   Christian   era,   when    they   are   disclosed   dimly   to  ^^"^^  '• 

view  in  the  pages  of  the  ancient  native  literature  and  the 

scanty  notices  of  Greek  and  Roman  authors,  as  supplemented 

by  a  few  archaeological  and  numismatic  observations.     With 

Oamhridge    Antiquarian    Society^ s  and   malabathrum  of  which  their 

Communications,  vol.  v,  p.  237),  are  lading  consists  '.     A  full  list  of  ex- 

the  authority   for   the    temple    of  ports  and  imports  is  then   given. 

Augustus  at  Muziris,  which  is  in-  Malabathrum  (txa\dl3a0pov)  was  not 

dicated   on   the   map   by  a  rough  '  betel ',    as   Mr.    McCrindle    erro- 

sketchof  a  building  marked  '  tempi.  neously  supposed,  but  the  leaves  of 

augusti' inserted  beside  '  Muziris'.  different  species  of  Cinnamomum, 

The  identification  of  Muziris  with  especially   C.   Zeylanicum  (Schoff, 

Cranganore  is  well  established.    Ka-  transl.   of  Periplus,   p.    84;    with 

viripaddanam  =  Puhar ;  =  Kakanthi  references).    The  massacre  at  Alex- 

(Kakandlof  Bharhutinscription,No.  andria,  perpetrated  in  215  by  Cara- 

101,  Ind.   Ant.,  xxi,  235)  ;   =  Ka-  calla,  stopped   most  of  the  direct 

mara  {Periplus,  ch.  60,  £nd.  Ant.,  trade  between  that  port  and  India 

viii,    149);    =  Khaberis   {Ptolemy,  {J.  R.  A.  S.,  1907,  p.  954<). 

Bk.vn,ch.  1,13, Ind.  Ant.,  v'n,  4'b;  ^  Gover    was    of    opinion     that 

xiii,  332).     For  the  bronze  vessels  Tiruvalluva,  the  famous  author  of 

see   the   collection  in   the    British  the      Kural      {Cural),     'probably 

Museum,   and    the   labels   on   the  flourished  about  the  third  century 

specimens; /«(?.  ^n<.,  1905,  p.  229;  of   our    era'    {The    Folk-songs    of 

Breeks,  An  Account  of  the  Primi-  Southern  India,  1872,  p.  217).    Mr. 

five  Tribes  and  Monuments  of  the  Gover  penetrated  into  the  Hindu 

Nllagiris,    London,    1873;    Foote,  mind    perhaps   more   deeply   than 

Catal.     Prehist.     Antiq.     Madras  any    other   European   writer,   and 

Museum,     1901,    pis.    x-xiii.     The  any  one  desirous  of  understanding 

Periplus  (ch.  56),  states  that  '  ships  Southern    India    should     read,    if 

which  frequent  these  ports  are  of  possible,  his  admirable  book,  which, 

a  large  size,  on  account  of  the  great  unfortunately,  is  now  scarce, 
amount  and  bulkiness  of  the  pepper 


446 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 


the  exception  of  the  Asoka  edicts,  the  Bhattiprolu  casket 
inscriptions,  and  a  small  number  of  other  records,  epigraphic 
testimony  does  not  go  back  so  far.  General  tradition 
recognized  the  existence  of  three  important  kingdoms,  and 
only  three,  in  the  Tamil  country — namely,  the  Pandya,  Chola, 
and  Chera  or  Kerala.     The  poet  sings  : — 

The  pleasant  Tamil  lands  possess 

For  boundary  the  ocean  wide. 

The  heaven,  where  tempests  loud  sway  not. 

Upon  their  brow  rests  as  a  crown. 

Fertile  the  soil  they  till  and  wide: 

Three  kings  with  mighty  hosts  this  land  divide.^ 

Asoka  calls  the  Chera  realm  by  the  name  of  Keralaputra, 

'  son  of  Kerala ',  which  appears  in  corrupt  forms  in  Pliny's 

Mork  and  the  Periplus,  and  he  adds  a  fourth  name,  Satiya- 

putra,  not  recorded  elsewhere.     A  probable,  though  unproved, 

conjecture  identifies   this   last   kingdom    with    the    Tuluva 

country  on  the  western   coast,  to  the  north  of  Kerala  or 

Malabar.     Mangalore  is  the  centre  of  the  Tuluva  country, 

in  which  Tulu,  a  language  allied  to  Kanarese,  is  spoken. 

The  Pandya  kingdom,  as  defined  by  tradition,  extended 

north  and  south  from  the  Southern    Vellaru   river   (Pudu- 

kingdom.    kottai)  to  Cape  Comorin,  and  east  and  west  from  the  Coro- 

mandel  coast  to  the  ^ great  highway',  the  Achchhankovil 

Pass  leading  into  Southern  Kerala,  or  Travancore ;   and  thus 

w^as  nearly  co-extensive  with  the  existing  Districts  of  Madura 

and  Tinnevelly.     At  times  it  included  the  southern  part  of 

Travancore. 

Position  of      According  to  the  most  generally  received  traditions,  the 
the  Chola    ^,     ,  ,r.i    ,  ,    ,       v  ,  ,    i  ,  , 

kingdom.    <-^hola  country  [Lholamandalam)  was  bounded  on  the  north 

by  the  Pennar,  and  on  the  south  l)y  the  Southern  Vellaru 

river;  or,  in  other  words,  it  extended  along  the  eastern,  or 

Coromandel,  coast   from   Nellore   to   Pudukottai,  where  it 

abutted  on  the  Pandya  territory.     On  the  west  it  extended 

to  the  borders  of  Coorg.     The  limits  thus  defined   include 

Madras  and  several  other  British   districts  on  the  east,  as 

well  as  the  greater   part   of   the   Mysore   State.     But   the 

1  Pura-nanm'tru,  No.  35,  in  Tarn.  Ant.,  vol.  i,  No.  6,  p.  50. 


Position 
of  the 
Pandya 


THE   CHERA   KINGDOM  447 

ancient   literature  does   not  carry  the  Tamil  Land  farther 

north  than  Pulicat  and  the  Venkata  or  Tirupathi  Hill,  100  miles 

to   the  north-west  of  Madras.     On  the  other  hand,  in  the 

seventh  century,   the  Chola   country,   as   known    to    Hiuen 

Tsang,    was   a   small  territorj'^,  nearly   coincident   with    the 

Cuddapah  District,  and  did  not  extend  to  the  south.     Chola- 

mandalam,  or  the  Coromandel  coast,  called  Dravida  by  the 

pilgrim,  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Pallava  kings,  whose 

capital  was  at  Kanchi  (Conjeeveram)  45  miles  WSW.  from 

the  city  of  Madras. 

Scholars    are    now    agreed    that    Chera    and    Kerala    are  Position  of 

the  Chera 
only  variant  forms  of  the  one  word.^     The  name  of  Kerala  or  Keraja 

is  still  well  remembered,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that   the  kingdom. 

ancient  kingdom  so  called  was  equivalent  to  the  Southern 

Konkans  or  Malabar  coast,  comprising  the  present  Malabar 

District  with  Travancore  and  Cochin.     The  southern  portion 

of  Travancore,  known  as  Ven  or  Venadu,  was  attached  to 

the  Pandya  kingdom  in  the  first  century  after  Christ.     In 

later  times  the  Chera  kingdom  included  the  Kongu  country, 

the  modern  Coimbatore  District  with  the  southern  part  of 

Salem,  but  it    is    doubtful    whether   or    not   such    was   the 

case   in    early   days.     Generally,   Kerala   means  the  rugged 

region  of  the  Western  Ghats  south  of  the  Chandragiri  river. 

Of  course,  the  boundaries  of  the  three  kingdoms  varied  much 

from  time  to  time. 

From  about  the  fourth  to  the  eighth  century  the  Pallava  The 

.      Pallavas. 
dynasty  plays  a  great  part  in  the  history  of  Southern  India. 

But  there  was  no  Pallava  country  with  traditional  limits. 
The  Pallava  domination,  while  it  lasted,  extended  in  degrees 
varying  from  time  to  time  over  all  the  three  ancient  king- 
doms, the  extent  of  such  domination  being  in  proportion 
to  the  vigour  of  the  Pallava  chiefs  and  the  weakness  of 
their  rivals.  This  fact  seems  to  indicate  that  the  Pallavas, 
like   the  Marathas,  were  a  predatory  clan,  tribe,  or  caste, 

^  Kerala  is  the   Kanarese   form  C/iera7am  means 'mountain-range', 

of  the  Tamil  Cherala.     The  country  and  so   is   equivalent  to   Malabar 

was  anciently  called  Cheralam  or  (Pundit  D.  Savariroyan  in  Tamilian 

Cherala-nadu,  and  the  kings  were  Antiquary,  No,  1,  pp.  09-71). 
Cheral-adan  or  Cheral-Irum-Porrai, 


448 


TFIE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 


General 
view  of 
southern 
history. 


which  rose  to  power  by  violence,  and  superimposed  its 
authority  upon  the  rajas  of  the  territorial  kingdoms.  The 
tradition  of  the  Pallava  rule  is  faint,  and  the  existence  of  the 
dynasty  was  unknown  to  European  scholars  until  1840,  when 
the  discovery  of  a  copper-plate  inscription  drew  their  atten- 
tion to  the  subject.^  Since  then  many  similar  discoveries 
have  been  effected,  and  much  progress  has  been  made  in 
the  reconstruction  of  the  dynastic  framework  of  Pallava 
history.  The  origin  and  affinities  of  the  Pallavas  remain 
obscure. 

In  the  following  sections  of  this  chapter  an  attempt  will 
be  made  to  give  an  outline  of  the  political  history,  so  far 
as  it  is  known,  of  the  three  Tamil  kingdoms,  the  position 
and  character  of  which  have  been  described,  and  also  of 
the  intrusive  dynasty  of  the  Pallavas.  But  the  time  for 
writing  in  brief  the  history  of  the  southern  kingdoms  in 
a  satisfactory  manner  has  not  yet  come,  and  at  present 
any  sketch  such  as  that  now  offered  must  be  tentative  and 
incomplete.  In  its  revised  form  it  is  less  imperfect  than 
the  account  in  the  earlier  editions  of  this  work,  but,  until 
specialists  intimately  acquainted  with  the  languages  and 
local  conditions  shall  have  worked  out  detailed  monographs 
for  each  dynasty,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  compile  an 
adequate  early  history  of  the  southern  kingdoms  in  a  form 
suitable  for  inclusion  in  a  volume  dealing  with  India  as 
a  whole.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  inevitable  defects 
incident  to  the  attempt,  it  is  worth  while  to  make  it.  I  do 
not  know  of  the  existence  of  any  book  which  professes  to 
give  the  student  or  general  reader  a  view  of  the  history  of 
Southern  India  before  the  Muhammadan  conquest,  as  it 
has  been  partially  recovered  by  the  patient  labours  of 
modern  scholarship.^  I  feel  assured,  therefore,  that  my 
effort  to  supply  the  want,  however  imperfectly  executed, 
will  not  be  wasted,  and  that  expert  critics  who  know  the 
difficulties  of  the  subject  will  be  the  most  ready  to  pardon 
my  shortcomings.     Tout  conncntre  c'est  tout  2^ttrdonner. 


^  Elliot,  Coins  of  Southern  India, 
p.  39. 

2  The  volume  of  collected  essays 
by  Mr.  S.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar, 


entitled ^/nc<V'H<  Indin  (Luzac,  1911), 
although  valuable,and  freely  utilized 
in  the  following  pages,  does  not 
profess  to  be  the  desired  book. 


SOURCES    OF   THE    HISTORY  449 

Those  difficulties  are  great.  The  sources  of  southern  Diffi- 
liistory  prior  to  the  ninth  century  are  far  scantier  than  those  *^"''^'^^' 
avaihihle  in  the  north.  The  eighteen  Purunas  pay  small 
attention  to  the  south,  early  inscriptions  are  extremely  rare, 
the  coinage  gives  little  help,  the  publication  of  archaeological 
investigations  in  a  finished  form  is  ])ackward,  and  the 
exploration  of  the  ancient  literature  is  incomplete.^  On  the 
other  hand,  from  the  ninth  century  onwards,  the  mass  of 
epigraphic  material  is  so  enormous  as  to  be  unmanageable. 
The  southern  princes  and  peoples  have  be(pieathed  to 
posterity  many  thousands  of  inscriptions,  which  often  attain 
portentous  length.  Eight  volumes  of  Mr.  Rice's  Epiyraphia 
Carnaiicay  which  are  concerned  with  both  the  Dcccan  and 
the  Tamil  kingdoms,  give  notices  of  5,800  inscriptions.  The 
staff  of  the  Archaeological  Survey  in  Madras  during  a  single 
year  copied  more  than  800  inscriptions,  none  of  which, 
probably,  are  included  in  Mr.  Rice's  work ;  and  every  year 
makes  a  huge  addition  to  the  unwieldy  accumulation  of 
historical  material.  The  length  of  individual  documents  is 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  one  important  record  is  engraved 
on  thirty-one  sheets  of  copper,  fastened  together  on  a  massive 
ring.  It  is  obvious  that  the  thorough  examination  of  the 
epigraphic  sources  alone  of  the  early  history  of  Southern 
India  must  be  the  work  of  specialists  for  many  years  to 
come,  and  that  additions  to  knowledge  of  the  subject  must 
continue  to  be  made  from  day  to  day.  With  these  prelimi- 
nary explanations  I  proceed  to  give  the  best  account  that 
I  can  of  the  three  Tamil  kingdoms,  and  of  the  intruding 
Pallava  dynasty  which  for  a  time  overshadowed  them  all. 

SECTION  II 

The  Pdndyay  Chera,  or  Kerala^  and  Satiyapiitra 
Kingdoms 

Ordinarily,  the  Pandya  kingdom,  approximately  equivalent  The  'five 
to  the  modern  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  Districts,  with  part  of    ^"  •  ^^^' 
Trichinopoly  and  sometimes  also  of  Travancore,  was  divided 
*  Southern  India  has  Purdtfas  of  its  own. 

1626  G  g 


450         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

into  five  principalities,  the  ciiiefs  of  which  were  known  as  the 
^five  Pandyas'.  Details  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  several 
chiefs  are  not  known. 

Korkai,  As  early  as  the  time  of  Pliny,  in  the  first  century  after 

°  Christ,  the  capital  was  Madura  or  Kudal ;  but  there  is  reason 

to  belie\e  that  in  still  more  ancient  days  Korkai  was  the 
chief  place  of  the  kingdom,  and  there  is  some  evidence  that 
a  place  called  South  Manalur  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
Madura  District  had  been  the  capital  of  Pandya  chiefs  in 
prehistoric  times.^  All  native  traditions  indicate  Korkai  or 
Kolkai,  the  Greek  Ko'Axot,  as  the  cradle  of  South  Indian 
civilization,  and  the  home  of  the  mythical  three  brothers 
who  were  supposed  to  have  founded  the  Pandya,  Chera,  and 
Chola  kingdoms.  The  city,  now  represented  by  an  insigni- 
ficant village  on  the  bank  of  the  Tamraparni  river  in 
Tinnevelly,  was  a  great  seaport  in  the  days  of  its  glory,  and 
the  head-quarters  of  the  pearl  trade,  which  constituted  the 
special  source  of  wealth  enjoyed  by  the  Pandya  kings.  Even 
when  the  royal  court  was  established  at  Madura,  the  Crown 
Prince  resided  at  Korkai  in  order  to  control  the  important 
revenue  and  commercial  interests  centred  there.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  silting  up  of  the  delta  rendered  Korkai 
inaccessible  to  ships,  and  the  city  gradually  decayed,  like  the 
Cinque  Ports  in  England. 

Kayal.  Its  commercial  business  was  transferred  to  the  new  jjort, 

which  was  founded  at  Kayal,  3  miles  lower  down  the  river, 

and  continued  for  many  centuries  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 

'  Pliny,  Hist.   Nat.,  Bk.  vi,  ch.  in  the  Pandya  dominions;   which, 

23  (26;.     He  describes  Becare,  the  therefore,  must  have  comprised  the 

harbour  on  the  Malabar  coast,  the  southern  parts  of  the  modern  Tra- 

Bakarai   or    Barkare    of    Ptolemy  vancore  State.   This  tract  was  called 

(Bk.  vii,  ch.   1,8),  which  is  Vaik-  Venadu  or  Ven.    For  identification 

karai,  the  landing-place  for  Kotta-  of  Becare  and  many  other  places, 

yam;  and  adds  that '  there  Pandion  see  The    Tmnih  Eiffhteen  Hundred 

used  to  reign,  dwelling  at  a  great  Years  Ago,  y>'P-  17-20.    Pliny's  work 

distance  from  the  mart,  in  a  town  was  published  in  a.  d.  77,  as  is  proved 

in  the  interior  of  the  country,  called  by  the  dedication  to  Titus,  before 

ISIodura'.     At    the    time    he    was  his  accession.     The   Verhilwi  may 

writing  Caelobothras  (Keralaputra)  be  dated  about  a.  d.  80,  and  Ptolemy 

was  sovereign  of  the  Malabar  coast.  about  a.d.  140.     For  Maiialur  see 

The  Perqdus  (ch.    54,   ,55)    shows  Ind.  Ant.,  1913,  pp.  6G,  72.     North 

clearly  that  while  Muziris  belonged  Maiialfir,  of  which  the  position  is 

to   the    kingdom    of    Keralaputra,  not   known,   is   supposed   to   have 

Bakare,  farther  south,  was  included  been  the  earliest  Choja  capital. 


EARLY    LITERARY   NOTICES  451 

marts  of  the  cast.  Here  Marco  Polo  landed  late  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  probably  more  than  once,  and  was  much 
impressed  by  the  wealth  and  magnificence  of  both  prince;  and 
people.^  But  the  same  process  which  had  mined  Korkai  caused 
the  abandonment  of  Kayal,  and  compelled  the  Portuguese  to 
remove  their  trade  to  Tuticorin,  where  a  slieltered  roadstead, 
free  from  deposits  of  silt,  offered  superior  convenience.  The 
site  of  Kayal  is  now  occupied  by  the  miserable  huts  of  a  few 
Mubammadan  and  native  Christian  fishermen, - 

It  is  impossible  to  name  a  date  for  the  abandonment  of  Early 
Korkai  as  a  port,  but  the  coins  of  that  mint  are  supposed  to  Meea/' 
extend  up  to  about  a.  d.  700.   The  special  crest  or  cognizance  sthenes. 
of  the  princes  of  Korkai  was  the  battle-axe,  often  associated 
with  the  elephant.     The  kings  of  Madura  adopted  a  fish,  or 
a  pair  of  fishes,  as  the  family  crest.^ 

The  capital  of  the  country,  as  already  mentioned,  was  at 
Madura  in  Pliny's  time,  but  the  kingdom  had  existed  from 
much  earlier  days.  The  Pandyas  were  known  to  the  Sanskrit 
grammarian  Katyayana,  whose  date  probably  is  not  later  than 
the  fourth  century  b.c.;^  and  in  the  same  century,  Mega- 
sthenes,  the  ambassador  of  Seleukos  Nikator  at  the  court 
of  Chandragupta  Maurya,  was  told  strange  tales  about  the 
southern  realm,  which  was  supposed  to  be  under  the  regimen 
of  women.  He  was  informed  that '  Herakles  begat  a  daughter 
in  India  whom  he  called  Pandaia.  To  her  he  assigned  that 
portion  of  India  which  lies  to  the  southward  and  extends  to 
the  sea,  while  he  distributed  the  people  subject  to  her  rule 
into  365  villages,  giving  orders  that  one  village  each  day 
should  bring  to  the  treasury  the  royal  tribute,  so  that  the 
queen  might  always  have  the  assistance  of  those  men  whose 
turn  it  was  to  pay  the  tribute  in  coercing  those  who  for  the 
time  being  were  defaulters  in  their  payment.*      This  female 

1  Medlycott,      India      and     the  *  Bhandarkar,  Early  History  of 

Apostle    Thomas,   pp.    85   and   87.  the  Dekkan,  2nd  ed. ,  in  Bomb.  Qaz. 

The  first  visit  seems  to  have  been  ,1896),  vol.    i,   part   i,   p.    139.      I 

made  in  1288   and  the  second  in  accept  the  view  of  Professors  Gold- 

1293.  stUcker  and   Bhandarkar  concern- 

^  Bishop  Caldwell, /wrf. -4«^,  vi,  ing  the  antiquity   of   Panini   and 

80-3,  279.  Katyayana  as  necessarily  resulting 

^  Loventhal,    Tlie   Coins  of  Tin-  from  the  ascertained  date  of  Patan- 

nevelly  (Madras,  1888),  p.  9.  jah,  150  b.c. 

Gg2 


452 


THE   KINGDOMS    OF   THE   SOUTH 


Relations 

with 

Rome. 


Ancient 
kings. 


The 

Madura 

Academy 


potentate  was  credited  with  having  received  from  her  hero 
father  500  elephants,  4,000  cavalry,  and  130,000  infantr)\ 
She  possessed  a  great  treasure  in  the  fishery  for  pearls,  which, 
as  Arrian  observes,  had  been  eagerly  sought  by  the  Greeks, 
and  in  his  time  were  equally  prized  by  the  Romans.^ 

We  hear  of  a  mission  sent  by  '  King  Pandion  '  to  Augustus 
Caesar  in  20  b.  c.  ;^  and  both  the  author  of  the  Periphis  of  the 
Erythraean  Sea  (c.  a.d.  80)  and  Ptolemy  the  geographer 
{c.  A.D.  140)  were  well  informed  concerning  the  names  and 
positions  of  the  marts  and  ports  of  the  Pandya  country. 
Caracalla's  massacre  at  Alexandria  in  a.d.  215  checked,  or 
perhaps  put  an  end  to,  the  direct  Roman  trade  between 
Southern  India  and  Egypt,^  so  that  for  long  ages  the  history 
of  the  Pandya  realm  is  hidden  from  our  eyes. 

The  ancient  Tamil  literature,  now  being  vigorously  explored 
by  many  patriotic  students  in  Southern  India,  mentions 
numerous  kings  by  their  clumsy  names  or  titles,  of  whom  some 
may  be  referred  to  an  extremely  early  period.  But  the  first 
Pandya  king  who  can  be  placed  in  a  chronological  position  at 
all  definite  is  Nedum-cheiiyan,  who  lived  in  the  second  century 
of  the  Christian  era,  and  was  more  or  less  contemporary  with 
Nedumudi  Killi,  grandson  of  Karikala  Chola,  with  Chen- 
kuttuvan,  a  powerful  Chera  king,  and  with  Gajabahu  I  of 
Ceylon.  As  is  usually  the  case  in  Indian  history,  the  key  is 
obtained  by  the  synchronism  with  a  foreign  prince.  Although 
it  cannot  be  said  that  the  chronology  of  the  early  kings  of 
Ceylon  has  been  settled  definitely.  Professor  Geiger's  dating 
of  the  reign  of  Gajabahu  between  a.d.  173  and  191  may  be 
accepted  as  a  close  approximation  to  the  truth. 

The  most  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  Pandya  state  in 
those  times  was  the  maintenance  at  Madura  of  a  flourishing 
literary  academy  or  Sangam,  the  members  of  which  produced 


1  Megasthenes,  Fragm.  I,  Ivi  B, 
Iviii,  in  Schwanbeck's  text  and 
McCrindle's  translation ;  Arrian, 
Imlika,  ch.  viii.  The  story  may 
have  been  suggested  by  distorted 
reports  of  the  Malabar  system  of 
succession  through  females.  Mr.  F. 
Fawcett  informs  me  that  at  the 


present  day  the  Laccadive  islands 
are  administered  by  the  women 
while  the  men  are  at  sea. 

2  Strabo,  Bk.  xv,  ch.  4,  73; 
Merivale,  History  of  the  Jiomans 
under  the  Empire,  iv,  118,  175. 

3  J.R.A.S.,Oct.,  1907,  p.  954. 


HIUEN   TSANG'S   ACCOUNT  453 

much  literature  of  the  highest  quaUty.  The  famous  Rural  of 
Tiruvalluva — which  liv  es  in  the  hearts  of  the  Tamil  people — 
may  be  assigned  to  a  time  a  little  before  or  after  a.d.  100. 
The  interesting  'Epic  of  the  Anklet'  and  the  'Jewel-belt' 
are  a  century  or  so  later.  It  is  impossible  at  present  to 
write  out  a  '  connected  relation '  of  the  story  of  the  Pfindya 
kings  during  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  and  the 
reader  must  be  content  with  these  few  observations.^ 

When  Hiuen  Tsang  visited  Southern  India,  in  a.d.  640,  he  Hiuen 
spent  a  considerable  time,  doubtless  including  the  '  rest '  account, 
during  the  rainy  season,  at  Kanchi  (Conjeeveram),  then  the 
capital  of  the  Pallava  king  Narasimhavarman,  the  most  con- 
siderable potentate  in  the  South  at  that  period.  The  pilgrim 
did  not  personally  visit  the  Pandya  country  farther  south, 
and  was  content  to  record  notes  from  descriptions  supplied 
by  his  Buddhist  friends  at  Kanchi.  He  gives  the  name  of 
Malakuta,  or  Malakotta,  to  the  country,  but  fails  to  indicate 
the  name  or  position  of  the  capital,  which  presumably  was 
Madura,  and  is  silent  on  the  subject  of  the  mode  of  govern- 
ment. It  is  probable  that  the  Pandya  Raja  at  that  time  was 
a  tributary  of  the  powerful  Pallava  king  of  Kanchi.  In 
Malakuta  Buddhism  was  almost  extinct,  the  ancient  monas- 
teries being  mostly  in  ruins.  Temples  of  the  Hindu  gods 
were  numbered  by  hundreds,  and  the  nude  (Digambara) 
Jains  were  present  in  multitudes.  The  inhabitants  were  re- 
puted to  care  little  for  learning,  and  to  be  wholly  immersed 
in  commercial  pursuits,  especially  the  pearl  trade.- 

An  inscription  furnishes  a  list  of  Pandya  kings  who  reigned  Eighth  to 

from  about  the  middle  of  the  eighth  to  the  beginning  of  the  centuries. 

tenth  century,  but  they  are  little  more  than  names.    Arikesarin, 

who  lived  in  the  eighth  century,  is  said  to  have  defeated  the 

Pallavas,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  accession  of 

1  The  Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred  pp.  53-73,  and  various  other  papers 

Years  A(/o,  pp.    80,   81,  88.     Mr.  in  vol.  i  of  the  same  periodical. 
Gover   dated    Tiruvallava    in    the  ^  ggal,  ii,   338-30;    Watters,  ii, 

third    century      {Folk     Songs    of  238-33.     See  remarks  by  Hultzsch, 

Southern  India,  p.  217).     See  An-  Ind.  Ant.,  xviii,   2^2.     What   has 

cient  India,  by  S.  K.  Aiyengar,  ch.  happened  to  the  ruins  of  the  Hindu 

xiv  ;  '  The  Augustan  Age  of  Tamil  and  Buddhist  buildings  anterior  to 

Literature' ;  Dr.  J.  Lazarus  on  the  the  seventh  century  ? 
Kural  in  Tarn.  Ant.,  vol.  ii  (1913;, 


454         THE    KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

Vanigunavarman,  who  was  defeated  b\-  the  Ganga-Pallava, 
Aparajita,  at  the  battle  of  Sri  Purainbiya,  may  be  assigned 
to  tlie  definite  date  a.d.  862-3.^  During  this  period  the 
Chola  kingdom,  ground  between  the  Pallava  and  the  Pandya 
millstones,  was  weak  and  unimportant,  and  the  business  of 
resisting  Pallava  aggression  seems  to  have  devolved  chiefly 
on  the  Pandyas.  The  defeat  of  Nandivarman  by  Vikramfi- 
ditya  Chalukya,  in  a.  d.  740,  had  greatly  weakened  the  Pallava 
power,  which  was  still  further  reduced  by  the  victories  of 
Aditya  Chola  at  the  close  of  the  ninth  century.'^  From  the 
beginning  of  the  tenth  century  the  Pandya  kings  were 
constrained  to  acknowledge  the  ever-growing  power  of  the 
Cholas.  Whether  independent  or  tributary,  the  Pandya 
dynasty  continued  to  exist  throughout  the  ages,  and  its 
conflicts  with  neighbouring  powers  are  noticed  in  inscriptions 
from  time  to  time,  but  few  of  the  events  recorded  are  deserving 
of  remembrance. 
Choja  The  Pandya  state,  in  common  with  the  other  kingdoms  of 

ascen-  j.]|g  S(,^th,  undoubtedly  was  reduced  to  a  condition  of  tribu- 
tary dependence  by  the  Chola  king,  Rajaraja  the  Great,  about 
the  year  994,  and  continued  to  be  more  or  less  under  Chola 
control  for  nearly  two  centuries ;  although,  of  course,  the 
local  administration  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  nati^■e 
rajas,  and  the  relations  of  the  two  states  varied  from  time 
to  time.  Some  revival  of  the  Pandya  power  took  place  in  the 
first  half  of  the  tiiirteenth  century. 
Persecu-  When  Hiuen  Tsang,  the  Chinese  pilgrim,  visited  Southern 
Jains.  India  in  a.d.  649,  Digambara  Jains  and  Jain  temples  were 
numerous  in  both  the  Pallava  realm  (Dravida)  and  the  Pandya 
kingdom  (Malakuta).  His  account  does  not  offer  the  slight- 
est indication  of  religious  persecution.  We  must  hold,  there- 
fore, that  the  persecution  which  certainly  occurred  about  that 
time  was  subsequent  to  the  pilgrim's  visit.     It  is  well  estab- 

^  Progress    Report,    Epigraphy,  to    date.       Additions     have    been 

1906-7,  in  Madras  G.O.,  Puhlir,  No.  made  by  Mr.  T.  A.  Gopinatha  Rao 

50:},  June  27,  1907,  pp.  (r2-70.    That  in  the  Tra^Hinrorf  A rrhdeol.  Series, 

report  by  the  late  liai  Bahadur  V.  especially  No.  7  (1911). 

Venkayya  Avarjjalgivesasunaniary  ^  Progruss    R'porl,     Epif/raphg , 

of  the  few  known  facts  about  the  l9(}.i-6, in  M<idras  G.O.,  Puhlir,  So . 

early  Pandya  kings,  as  ascertainsd  19i.  July  2,  1906,  paras,  10,  16. 


PERSECUTION   OF  JAINS  455 

lished  that  king  Ku.na_,  Sundara^  or  Nedumaran  Paiidya,  who 
had  been  brought  up  as  a  Jain  and  was  married  to  a  Chola  prin- 
cess, was  converted  alx)ut  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century, 
by  his  consort  and  the  famous  saint  Tirujnanasambandar,  to 
the  faith  of  Siva,  which  was  warmly  supported  by  the  Chola 
dynasty.  King  Sundara  is  alleged  to  have  displayed  even 
more  than  the  proverbial  zeal  of  a  convert,  and  to  have  per- 
secuted his  late  co-religionists,  who  refused  to  apostatize, 
with  the  most  savage  cruelty,  inflicting  on  no  less  than  eight 
thousand  innocent  persons  a  horrible  death  by  impalement. 
Certiiin  unpublished  sculptures  on  the  walls  of  a  temple  at 
Trivatur  (Tiruvattur)  in  Arcot  are  believed  to  record  these 
executions,  and  are  appealed  to  as  confirmation  of  the  tradi- 
tion.^ The  position  of  the  Jain  religion  in  the  South  was 
much  shaken  by  the  persecution,  which  seems  to  have  been 
a  reality,  although  possibly  exaggerated. 

Wars  between  the  Pandya  kings  and  the  rulers  of  Ceylon  Wars  with 
frequently  occurred.  The  most  notable  incident  in  this  pro- 
tracted conflict  was  the  invasion  of  the  Pandya  territory, 
in  or  about  a.  d.  1166,  by  a  powerful  force  under  the  command 
of  two  generals  in  the  service  of  Parakrama-bahu,  the  ambi- 
tious king  of  Ceylon.  Two  detailed  accounts  of  this  event, 
written  from  different  points  of  view,  are  extant.  The  storj^, 
as  told  in  the  island  chronicle,  the  Mahavafnsa,  naturally 
represents  the  victorious  career  of  the  invaders  as  unbroken 
by  defeat ;  but  the  rival  account,  preserved  in  a  long  Chola 
inscription  at  Arpakkam  near  Kanchi,  which  is  the  more 
trustworthy  record,  proves  that  the  invading  army,  having 
gained  considerable  success  at  first,  ultimately  was  obliged  to 

1  The  date  of  Tirujnanasamban-  is    repeated    in    Rodriguez     {The 

dar  and  Kuna  Pandya  was  settled  Hindu  Pantheon,  Madras,  184-1-5), 

by  Hultzsch  in  1894-5    Ep.  Ind.,  illustrated  by  a  plate  depicting  the 

iii,  277).     See  also  Tarn.  An(.,\-o\.  i  horrid  tortures  of  the  victims  ;  also 

(1909),  No.  3,  p.  65.     The  approxi-  byGribblein  Calc.  7?«i\,1875,p.  70; 

mate  date  thus  determined  is  the  and   by  Elliot,   Coins  of  Southern 

most  important  fixed  point  in  the  India  (.1835;,  p.  126.     The  Pandya 

early  political  and  literary  history  king  is  named  Nedumaran  in  the 

of  the  South.  Periyapurfina    Ind.  Ant.,  xxii,  63). 

The   persecution  is  described  in  All  the  southern  kings  had  many 

the   62nd  and    63rd    Tiruvalliadal  names  and  titles,  which  cause  much 

{Wihon,  Mackenzie  2JSS.  2nd  ed.,  confusion.     For  the  sculptures,  see 

Calcutta,  1828,  p.  41  .     The  story  Sewell,  Lints,  vol.  i,  p.  167. 


456         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

retire  in  consequence  of  tiie  v^igorous  resistance  of  a  coalition 
of  the  southern  princes.  The  occasion  of  the  Sinhalese  inter- 
\ention  was  a  disputed  succession  to  the  Pandya  throne  of 
Madura,  contested  by  claimants  bearing  the  oft-recurring 
names  of  Yira  and  Sundara.^  This  recurrence  of  names  is 
one  of  the  difficulties  which  hinder  the  reconstruction  of  the 
dynastic  framework  of  Pandya  history. 

The  later  Prof.  Kielhorn  has  succeeded  in  working  out  the  dates  of 
^"•^*  ■  seventeen  Pandya  rajas  who  ruled  a  territory  more  or  less 
extensive  during  the  long  period  between  a.d.  1100  and  1567, 
but  the  list  of  names  is  believed  to  be  incomplete,  and  most 
of  the  princes  were  merely  local  chiefs  of  slight  importance.'^ 
By  far  the  most  powerful  of  the  mediaeval  Pandya  rajas 
was  Jatavarman  Sundara  I,  who  reigned  from  a.d.  1251  to 
at  least  1271,  and  made  himself  master  of  the  whole  eastern 
coast  from  Nellore  to  Cape  Comorin.  Some  of  his  coins  can 
be  identified.^  The  partial  Muhammadan  conquest  effected 
by  Malik  Kafur  and  other  leaders  in  a.d.  1310  and  subse- 
quent years,  did  not  destroy  the  local  dynasties,  although  it 
marks  a  change  in  political  conditions  which  has  been  taken 
as  the  limit  of  this  history. 

Earliest  The  earliest  reference  to  the  Kerala  or  Chera  kingdom  is 

references  ^^y^^^  made  in  the  edicts  of  Asoka  under  the  name  of  Kerala- 

to  the 

Chera  or    putra,  which  was  known  in  slightly  corrupted  forms  to  both 

kim^dom.  l^^i'^y  ^^^^^  the  author  of  the  Pei'lplus  as  still  used  in  their 
time,  the  first  century  after  Christ.  The  ancient  Tamil  litera- 
ture, dating  approximately  from  the  same  period,  or  a  little 
later,  proves  tliat  the  Chera  kingdom  comprised  five  nddus  or 
districts,  namely :  (1)  Pooli,  '  the  sandy,'  extending  from 
Agalappula  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ponani  river,  about  10°  50'  N. 
lat. ;  (2)  Kudam,  '  the  western,'  extending  from  the  Ponani 
to  the  southernmost  mouth  of  the  Periyar  ri\'er  near  Erna- 
kulam,  about  10°  N.  lat. ;  (3)  Kuddam,  '  the  land  of  lakes,' 
about  Kottayam  and  Quilon ;  (4)  Yen  ■*,  from  below  Quilon 

'  Full  details  will  be  found  in  the  *  '  Supplement  to  the  List  of  In- 

article  appended  to  Madras  O.  0.,  scriptions  of  Southern  India',  in  ii^/). 

Public,  Nos.  922,  92:5,  dated  Aug.  Ind.  viii,  App.  ii,  p.  21. 
] 0,1899, pp. 8-14.  SeealsoHultzsch,  »  Ind.  Ant.,  1911,  pp.  137,  138. 

•  Contributions'to  Singhalese  Chro-  ''  The  I'eriplus  and  Pliny  assign 

nology'(J./i.^.S.,  1913,  pp.  517-31;. 


COMMERCE  457 

nearly  to  Cape  Comorin  ;  and  (5)  Karka,  ^  the  rocky/  the  hill 
country  to  the  east  of  No.  2.  Pliny's  Cottonara  or  Kotta- 
nara^  the  pepper  coast,  corresponds  with  No.  3. 

In  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  two  of  the  Ports, 
principal  ports  at  which  the  trade  in  pepper  and  other  rarities 
was  carried  on  were  Muziris,  the  modern  Cranganore,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Perij'ar,  and  Bakarei,  or  Vaikkarai,  the  landing- 
place  for  Kottayam.  With  a  favourahle  south-east  monsoon, 
the  voyage  from  Arahia  to  Muziris  occupied  forty  days  during 
July  and  August,  and  traders  were  able  to  return  in  December 
or  January  after  transacting  their  business. 

These  notices,  recorded  by  the  Greek  and  Roman  authors, 
concerning  the  extent  and  methods  of  commerce  are  no  doubt 
extremely  interesting,  but  they  give  little  help  towards  the 
reconstruction  of  the  political  history  of  Kerala.  In  fact, 
next  to  nothing  is  known  on  that  subject  until  Kerala  was 
forced  into  contact  with  the  aggressive  Chola  power  in  the 
tenth  century,  from  which  time  the  Chola  inscriptions  throw 
some  sidelights  on  the  history  of  the  western  kingdom. 

The  most  ancient  Chera  capital  is  said  to  have  been  Vanji,  The 
Vanchi,  or  Karur,  now  represented  by  the  deserted  village  ^^^^ 
Tiru-Kariir,  high  up  the  Periyar,  about  28  miles  ENE.  of 
Cochin.  Tiruvanji-kalam,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Periyar, 
M-as  a  later  capital.  Some  writers  have  erroneously  believed 
Karur  in  Coimbatore  to  have  been  the  Chera  capital,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  that  opinion  is  mistaken.^ 

In  the  earliest  times  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  the  The 
Kongu  country,  comprising  Coimbatore  and  the  southern  part  country, 
of  Salem,  is  believed  to  have  been  distinct  from    Kerala, 
whereas  in  later  days  both  Kerala  proper  and  the  Kongu 
country  seem  to  have  been  comprised  in  a  single  kingdom ; 
and  subsequently  again  the  Kongu  comitry  alone  was  known 

the  southern  province  or  district  to  S.  I.  Inscr.,  vol.  iii,  part  i,  p.  30. 

the  kingdom  of  Pandya.    No  doubt  A  few  names  of  early  Chera  kings 

the  Pandyas  always  did  their  bast  have  been  ascertained  :  e.  g.  Sthanu 

to  obtain  control  of  some  ports  on  Ravi  was  contemporary  and  friendly 

the  western  coast,  and  sometimes  with   Aditya   Chola,  the  father  of 

succeeded  in  securing  it.  Parantaka  I  ('Epigraphy',  p.   61, 

^  The  Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred  in  Madras  G.  0.  Public,  No.  919, 

Years  Ago,  p.  15  ;  Ind.  Ant.,  xviii,  July  29,  1912). 
259  ;  xxxi,  343  ;   /i>.  Ind.,  iv,  29 1 ; 


458 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 


An  early 
king. 


Travan- 
core,  or 
South 
Kerala. 


Rajas  of 
Travan- 
core. 


as  the  Chera  kingdom^  while  Kerala  was  separate.  Apparently 
it  is  not  possible  at  present  to  assign  these  changes  to  definite 
dates.  Kerala  itself  has  not  always  formed  a  single  kingdom, 
and  it  now  comprises  the  British  District  of  Malabar,  as  well 
as  the  native  states  of  Cochin  and  Travancore. 

Tamil  literature  represents,  as  already  observed  [ante,  p.  452), 
that  Chenkuttuvan,  an  exceptionally  powerful  Chera  king, 
was  contemporary  more  or  less  with  Nedum-cheliyan,  the 
Pandya,  and  Nedumudi  Killi  Chola,  the  grandson  of  Kari- 
kala,  as  well  as  with  Gajabahu  I  of  Ceylon.  The  authentic 
political  history  of  the  Cliera  or  Kerala  kingdom,  therefore, 
like  that  of  the  other  l^mil  monarchies,  cannot  at  present 
be  carried  back  farther  than  the  first  two  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era.  Even  al)out  the  events  of  that  period  very 
little  is  recorded. 

A  learned  writer,  the  late  Mr.  P.  Sundaram  Pillai,  who  was 
a  native  of  Travancore,  rightly  claimed  that  his  country 
possesses  claims  to  exceptional  interest,  and  may  be  regarded 
as  an  epitome  of  India.  Having  never  been  affected  seriously 
by  the  Muhammadan  conquest,  it  '  plays  in  Indian  anthro- 
pology the  part  of  a  happy  and  undisturbed  fossiliferous 
stratum '.  To  vary  the  metaphor,  the  state  may  be  regarded 
as  a  museum  in  which  are  preserved  alive  survivals  of  nearly 
all  the  ancient  Indian  peoples,  religions,  laws,  customs,  and 
manners.  The  old  and  new  can  be  studied  together  within 
that  limited  area  in  a  way  which  is  not  possible  elsewhere. 
I  have  already  invited  attention  [ante,  p.  8)  to  the  view  that 
the  scientific  study  of  the  history  of  Indian  institutions  should 
begin  with  the  South,  rather  than  with  the  North. 

The  political  history  of  Travancore  was  seriously  investi- 
gated for  the  first  time  by  the  scholar  named  above,  who 
collected  over  a  hundred  inscriptions,  mostlj^  recorded  in  the 
ancient  Vatteluttu  alphabet,  by  the  aid  of  Avhich  he  was  able 
to  trace  back  the  royal  family  to  a.d.  1125,  and  to  compile 
a  nearly  complete  list  of  the  rfijas  for  two  centuries  from 
that  date.^     The  records  published  show  th;it  at  the  bsgin- 


I 


^  '  Some  Early  Sovereigns  of  Tra- 
vancore", Ind.  Aiit.,\o\.  xxiv  ,189.5  , 


pp.   2H),  277,  305,  333;  ibid.,  vol. 
xxvi,  p.  10!) ;    '  Miscellaneous  Tra- 


VILLAGE    ASSEMBLIES  459 

ning  of  the  twelfth  century  Travancore,  or  Southern  Kerala, 
formed  part  of  the  Chola  empire  of  llajendra  Chola-Kulot- 
tunga,  and  to  all  appearance  was  well  governed  and 
administered.  The  details  of  the  working  of  the  ancient 
village  associations  or  assemblies  are  especially  interesting, 
and  prove  that  the  government  was  by  no  means  a  mere 
centralized  autocracy.  The  village  assemblies  possessed 
considerable  administrative  and  judicial  powers,  exercised 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Crown  officials. 

The  crest  or  cognizance  of  the  Chera  kings  was  a  bow.  Chera 
Their  coins  are  very  rare,  and  only  two  late  types,  characterized 
by  the  bow  device,  are  known.    They  are  found  in  the  Kongu 
country  of  Salem  and  Coimbatore,  and  I  do  not  know  any 
record  of  the  coinage  of  Kerala,  the  Malabar  coast.^ 

The  above  disjointed  notes  are  all  that  I  am  in  a  position  Lack  of 
to  offer  as  a  contribution  to  the  early  history  of  the  Chera  or 
Kerala  kingdom.  The  story  of  the  Zamorins  of  Calicut  falls 
outside  of  the  limits  of  this  work.  Professor  Kielhorn  has 
compiled  a  list  of  the  inscriptions  of  the  later  kings  and  chiefs 
of  Kerala,  being  mostly  those  collected  by  Mr.  Sundaram 
Pillai,^  but  has  not  attempted  to  draw  up  a  dynastic  list. 

The  conjecture  as  to  the  position  of  the  Satiyaputra  kingdom  Satiya- 
referred    to    by    Asoka    has    been    already   recorded    [ante,  ^"*gdoiu. 
pp.  163,  185),  and  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  on  the 
subject.     The  name  occurs  only  in  the  edicts  of  Asoka. 

vancore    Inscriptions,'    ibid.,    vol.  Southern    India     (Madras,    1889), 

xxvi,  pp.  113,  141.     Later  informa-  p.   17. 

tion   will   be   found  in  V.  Nagam  ^  Ep.    Ind.,   vol.    vii,   App.    O, 

Aiya,  The  Travancore  State  Manual,  Nos.      {)39-66.      The     inscriptions 

;}  vols.,  Trivandrum,  1906,  and  in  the  generally  are  dated  in  the  KoUain 

Travancoi'e   Archaeological    Series,  or    Malabar    era    of    a.  d.    8^4-5. 

commencing  in  1910.  Much  further  information  will   be 

1  Ante,  plate  of  coins,  fig.    17;  found  in  the  works  above  cited,  but 

Tufnell,  Hints  to  Coin  Collectors  in  the  details   are  not  of  general  in- 
terest. 


460 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   SOUTH 


SECTION  III 


Tradi- 
tional 
limits  of 
the  Chola 
country. 


Variation 
of  political 
bounda- 


Earliest 
notices  ot 
Chola 
kingdom. 


The  Chola  Kingdom 

According  to  tradition,  the  Choki  country  [Cholaman- 
dalam)  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Pennar,  and  on  the 
south  bj'  the  southern  Vellaru  river;  or,  in  otlier  words,  it 
extended  along  the  eastern  coast  from  Nellore  to  Pudukottai, 
where  it  abutted  on  the  Pandya  territory.  On  the  west  it 
reached  to  the  borders  of  Coorg.  The  limits  thus  defined 
include  Madras,  and  several  other  British  districts  on  the 
east,  as  well  as  the  greater  part  of  the  Mysore  state.^  The 
most  ancient  historical  capital  was  Uraiyur,  or  Old  Trichi- 
nopoly,  so  far  as  is  known  with  certainty.  A  town  called 
North  Manalur,  of  which  the  position  is  not  known,  is  said 
to  have  been  the  Chola  capital  in  prehistoric  times.^ 

The  existence  of  well-known  traditional  boundaries  must 
not  be  taken  to  justify  the  inference  that  they  always  agreed 
with  the  frontiers  of  the  Chola  kingdom,  which  latter,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  varied  enormously.  The  limits  of  the  Chola 
country,  as  determined  by  tradition,  mark  ethnic  rather  than 
political  frontiers  on  the  north  and  west,  where  they  do  not 
differ  widely  from  the  lines  of  demarcation  between  the 
Tamil  and  the  other  Dravidian  languages — Telugu,  Kanarese, 
Malayalam,  and  Tulu.  Tamil,  however,  is  as  much  the 
vernacular  of  the  Pandya  as  of  the  Chola  region,  and  no 
clear  ethnical  distinction  can  be  drawn  between  the  peoples 
residing  north  and  south  of  the  Vellaru,  the  southern  limit  of 
the  traditional  Chola  territory. 

The  kingdom  of  the  Cholas,  which,  like  that  of  the  Pandyas, 
was  unknown  to  Panini,  was  familiar  by  name  to  Katyayana, 
and  recognized  by  Asoka  as  independent.  Inasmuch  as  the 
great  Maurya^s  authority  unquestionably  extended  to  the 
south  of  Chitaldurg  in  Mysore,  and  down  to  at   least  the 


^  Coins  of  Sou  flu  rn  Indid,  p.  lOS. 
Chola  is  also  written  Chora,  Sola,  or 
Sora.  Coromandel  is  a  corruption 
of  Cliolamawlalam  ^Yule  &  Burnell, 
AiKjIo-jHiUan  Clossaiy,  s.v.  *Coro- 
mander).     The  name  Chola  means 


a  peojile  as  well  as  a  dynasty,  but 
nothing  is  known  about  the  Cholas 
as  a  people.  They  have  become 
merged  in  the  existing  population 
without  leaving  a  trace. 

2  lud.  AnI.,  I!U3,  pp.  70,  12. 


ANCIENT   COURSE   OF   TRADE  461 

fourteenth  degree  of  latitude,  the  Pennar  river  probably  was 
the  northern  Chola  frontier  in  the  Maurya  age.  In  later 
times  that  frontier  on  both  north  and  south  was  much 
advanced,  while,  on  tlie  contrary,  at  an  intermediate  date, 
it  was  greatly  contracted  during  the  period  of  Pallava 
supremacy. 

Ancient  Tamil  literature  and  the  Greek  and  Roman  Trade  in 
authors  prove  that  in  the  first  two  centuries  of  the  Christian  times, 
era  the  ports  on  the  Coromandel  or  Chola  coast  enjoyed  the 
benefits  of  active  commerce  with  both  West  and  East.  The 
Chola  fleets  did  not  confine  themselves  to  coasting  voyages, 
but  boldly  crossed  the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  the  mouths  of  the 
Ganges  and  Irrawaddy,  as  well  as  the  Indian  Ocean  to  the 
islands  of  the  Malay  Archipelago.  All  kinds  of  goods 
imported  into  Kerala  or  Malabar  from  Egypt  found  a  ready 
market  in  the  Chola  territory ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  western  ports  drew  a  large  part  of  their  supplies  of 
merchandise  from  the  bazaars  of  the  eastern  coast,  which 
produced  great  quantities  of  cotton  goods.  The  principal 
Chola  port  was  Kaviripaddinam,  situated  at  the  northern 
mouth  of  the  Kaviri  (Cauvery)  river.  This  once  wealthy  city, 
in  which  the  king  maintained  a  magnificent  palace,  and 
foreign  merchants  found  residence  cigreeable  and  profitable, 
has  vanished,  and  its  site  lies  buried  under  deep  sand-drifts.^ 

The  first  historical,  or  semi-historical,  Chola  king  is  Karikala. 
Karikala  (Karikkal),  who  is  represented  by  the  early  poets 
as  having  invaded  Ceylon  and  carried  off  thence  thousands 
of  coolies  to  work  on  the  embankments  of  the  Kaviri  river, 
a  hundred  miles  in  length,  which  he  constructed.  He 
founded  Kaviripaddinam,  transferring  his  capital  from 
Uraiyur  to  the  new  port.  He  enjoyed  a  long  reign,  which 
was  much  occupied  by  fighting  with  his  neighbours,  the 
Pandyas  and  Cheras.  He  seems  to  have  lived  in  the  second 
half  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  or  perhaps  in 
the  second  century.  Karikala  was  succeeded  on  the  throne 
by  his  grandson,  Nedumudi  Killi,  in  whose  reign  Kaviripad- 

'  For  Kaviripaddinam,  see  ante,  p.  444,     The  Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred 
Years  Ago,  pp.  25,  26,  38. 


462 


THE    KINGDOMS   OF   THE    SOUTH 


Rise  of the 
Pallavas. 


Hiuen 
Tsang. 


dinam  was  destroyed  by  the  sea.  Neduimuli  Killi  was  con- 
temporary with  Chenkuttuvan  Chera  and  Gajabahu  I  of 
Ceylon.  The  Chera  king  appears  to  have  then  become  the 
leading  power  in  the  Sonth  for  a  short  time,  while  the  glory 
of  the  Cholas  departed,  not  to  be  renewed  until  ages  had 
passed. 

Literary  references  indicate  that,  in  the  second  or  third 
century  after  Christ,  the  power  of  the  Chola  and  other  Tamil 
kings  declined,  and  was  superseded  by  the  rise  of  the  Aruvalar 
and  similar  tribes,  apparently  distinct  in  race  from  the 
Tamils.^  The  earliest  known  Pallava  inscriptions,  dating 
from  about  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  centurj^,  show  that 
at  that  time  a  Pallava  prince  was  reigning  at  KanchI  in  the 
middle  of  the  traditional  Chola  country ;  and  it  may  well  be 
that  the  mysterious  Pallavas  were  related  to  the  tribes  alluded 
to.  However  that  may  be,  a  Pallava  king  certainly  was 
established  at  Kanchi  when  Samudragupta  raided  the  South, 
about  A.D.  350  [ante,  p.  284),  and  the  Chola  dominions  at 
that  time  must  have  been  much  diminished  in  consequence. 
Nothing  further  is  known  about  Chola  history  until  the 
seventh  century. 

The  observations  of  Hiuen  Tsang  give  an  interesting 
notice  of  the  Chola  kingdom  in  the  first  half  of  that  century, 
the  significance  of  which  has  not  been  fully  appreciated  by 
commentators  on  his  travels.  His  visit  to  the  South,  when 
he  penetrated  as  far  as  Kanchi,  the  Pallava  capital,  may  be 
dated  with  certainty  in  the  year  a.  d.  640.  At  that  time 
the  kingdom  of  Chola  (Chu-li-ya)  was  a  restricted  territory 
estimated  to  be  400  or  500  miles  in  circuit,  with  a  small 
capital  town  barely  2  miles  in  circumference.     The  country 


^  21ie   Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred 

Years  Ago,  pp.  64-78 ;  S.  Krish- 
naswamy  Aiyengar,  '  Some  Points 
in  Tamil  Literary  History,'  Malabar 
Quarterly  Review,  1 904,  The  dates 
in  Mr.  I^anakasabhai's  book  seem 
to  be  placed  too  early.  Chap,  vi 
of  Mr.  S.  K.  Aiyangar's  book, 
Ancient  India,  1911,  is  the  best 
history  of  the  Choja  kingdom.  In 
the  article  entitled  '  Karikala  and 


his  Times  '(/«d  Ant.,  1912,  p.  146), 
Mr.  K.  V.  S.  Aiyar  unsuccessfully 
tries  to  prove  that  Karikala  lived 
in  the  earlier  half  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury after  Christ.  That  view  seems 
to  me  to  be  wholly  untenable,  and 
to  involve  a  false  chronology  of 
Tamil  literature. 

^  The    Tamils  Eighteen  Hundred 
Years  Ago,  p.  44. 


CHOLA   COUNTRY   OF    HIUEN   TSANG     468 

was  wild  and  mostly  deserted,  consisting  of  a  succession 
of  hot  marshes  and  jungles,  occupied  hy  a  scanty  popula- 
tion, of  ferocious  habits,  addicted  to  open  brigandage.  The 
few  Buddhist  monasteries  were  ruinous,  and  the  monks 
dwelling  in  them  as  dirty  as  the  buildings.  The  prevailing 
religion  was  Jainism,  but  there  were  a  few  Brahmanical 
temples.  The  position  of  the  country  is  indicated  as  being 
some  200  miles  or  less  to  the  south-west  of  Amaravati. 
It  must,  therefore,  be  identified  with  a  portion  of  the 
Ceded  Districts,  and  more  especially  with  the  Cuddapah 
District,  which  possesses  the  hot  climate  and  other  character- 
istics noted  by  the  pilgrim,  and  was  still  notorious  for 
brigandage  when  annexed  by  the  British  in  1800.  The 
pilgrim  speaks  merely  of  the  '  country '  of  Chola,  and  makes 
no  mention  of  a  king ;  doubtless  for  the  reason  that  the  local 
raja  was  a  person  of  small  importance,  subordinate  to  the 
reigning  Pallava  king  of  Kanchi,  the  powerful  Narasimha- 
varman,  who  two  years  later  destroyed  the  Chalukya  power.^ 
The  correctness  of  this  interpretation  of  Hiuen  Tsang's  notice 
of  the  Chola  principality  is  demonstrated  by  the  discovery 
in  the  Cuddapah  District  of  stone  inscriptions  of  local  Chola 
rajas  engraved  in  characters  anterior  to  the  eighth  century .^ 

During  the  early  part  of  that  centuiy  the  struggle  for  Decline 
predominance  in  Southern  India  was  waged  between  the  paiiavas. 
Chalukyas  of  the  Deccan  and  the  Paiiavas  of  Kanchi,  the 
Cholas  not  counting  for  much.  But  the  severe  defeat  suffered 
by  the  Paiiavas  at  the  hands  of  the  Chalukya  king,  Vikra- 
maditya,  in  740,  weakened  the  power  of  the  kingdom  of  Kanchi, 
and  gave  the  Cholas,  who  had  been  reduced  to  insignificance 
by  the  pressure  of  the  Paiiavas  on  the  north  and  the  Pandyas 
on  the  south,  an  opportunity  of  recovering  their  position. 
We  hear  of  a  Chola  raja  named  Vijayalaya,  who  came  to  the 
throne  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  and  reigned 
for  thirty-four  years.     His   son  Aditya   {c.   a.d.  880-907) 

i    Beal,  ii,   227  30,  Waiters,  ii,  dated  June  27,  1907,  para.  13.     For 

224.  the  state  of  Cuddapah  in  1800,  see 

*  Reports  on  Epigraphy  in  3Ia-  Hamilton,   Description   of  Hindo- 

dras  G.  0.,  Public,  No.  518,  dated  stnn,  4to  ed.,  1820,  vol.  ii,  p.  323. 
July  18,  1905,  p.  48,  and  No.  503, 


464 


THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 


Parati- 
taka  I. 


Chola 
adminis- 
tration. 


Success- 
ors of 
Paran- 
takal. 


ace.  A.  D. 
985. 

Rajaraja 
the  Great 


conquered  Aparajitu  Pallava,  and  so  finally  put  an  end  to 
the  Pallava  supremacy. 

From  the  date  of  the  accession  of  Aditya's  son  and 
successor,  Parantaka  I,  in  a.d.  907,  the  historian  stands  on 
firm  chronological  ground,  and  is  emharrassed  hy  the  plethora 
rather  than  by  the  lack  of  epigraphic  material.  More  than 
forty  stone  inscriptions  of  Parantaka  I  were  copied  during 
the  single  season  of  1906-7,  ranging  in  date  from  his  third  to 
his  forty-first  year,  i.e.  from  a.d.  909-10  to  947-8.  This 
ambitious  prince,  not  content  with  the  overthrow  of  the 
Pallava  po\\'er,  pushed  on  to  the  extreme  South,  captured  the 
Pandya  capital,  Madura,  drove  its  king  into  exile,  and 
invaded  Ceylon. 

Certain  long  inscriptions  of  Parantaka  I  are  of  especial 
interest  to  the  students  of  village  institutions  by  reason  of 
the  full  details  which  they  give  of  the  manner  in  which  local 
affairs  were  administered  by  well-organized  local  committees, 
or  panchayats,  exercising  their  extensive  administrative  and 
judicial  powers  under  royal  sanction.  It  is  a  pity  that  this 
apparently  excellent  system  of  local  self-government,  really 
popular  in  origin,  should  have  died  out  ages  ago.  Modern 
governments  would  be  happier  if  they  could  command  equally 
effective  local  agency.  The  subject  has  been  studied  carefully 
by  two  Indian  scholars,  whose  disquisitions  are  well  worth 
reading.  Whenever  the  mediaeval  history  of  Southern  India 
comes  to  be  treated  in  detail,  a  long  and  interesting 
chapter  must  be  devoted  to  the  methods  of  Chola  adminis- 
tration.^ 

Parantaka  I  died  in  a.  d.  949.  His  son,  Rajaditya,  who 
was  killed  in  battle  at  Takkola  by  the  Rashtrakiita  king, 
Krishnaraja  III,  was  followed  by  five  obscure  successors,  who 
had  short  and  troubled  reigns. 

The  accession  in  985  a.d.  of  a  strong  ruler,  Rajaraja-deva 
the  Great,  put  an  end  to  dynastic  intrigue,  and  placed  at 


^  S.  Krishnaswami  Iyengar, '  The 
Chola  Administration,  90O-13UO 
A.D.'  {Madras  liei'iew,  1903),  and 
Ancient  India,  pp.  1.58-91.  The 
author  sometimes  spells  his  name 


Aiyangar.  V.  Venkayya,  '  Irriga- 
tion in  Southern  India  in  Ancient 
Times'  {Archaeol.  Survey  Annual 
Hep.,  1903-4,  pp.  203-11). 


% 


^% 


.■j; 
■^^ 


fiv', 


^i-'-^j  -'   ^1 


WARS   OF   RAJARAJA  465 

the  head  of  the  Chola  state  a  man  qualified  to  make  it  the 
leading  power  in  the  South.  In  the  course  of  a  busy  reign  of 
about  twenty-eight  years,  Rajaraja  passed  from  victory  to 
victory,  and,  when  he  died,  was  beyond  dispute  the  Lord 
Paramount  of  Southern  India,  ruling  a  realm  which  included 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  Madras  Presidency,  Ceylon,  and  a 
large  part  of  Mysore. 

He  began  his  career  of  conquest  by  the  destruction  of  the  Conquest 
Chera  fleet,  and  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  reign  his  acqui-  ^^.  ^^ 
sitions  on  the  mainland  comprised  the  Eastern  Chalukya 
kingdom  of  Vengi,  formerly  held  by  the  Pallavas,  Coorg,  the 
Pandya  country,  and  extensive  regions  in  the  table-land  of 
the  Deccan.  During  the  next  three  years,  Quilon  (Kollam) 
on  the  Malabar  coast,  and  the  northern  kingdom  of  Kalinga 
were  added  to  his  dominions.  Protracted  campaigns  in 
Ceylon  next  occupied  Rajaraja,  and  resulted  in  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  island  in  the  twentieth  year  of  his  reign.  In  or 
about  A.D.  1005  he  sheathed  the  sword  and  spent  the  rest  of 
his  life  in  peace.  From  1011  his  son  Rajendra  became  his 
colleague,  in  accordance  with  Chola  custom. 

The    ancient    enmity    between    the    Chalukyas   and    the  War  with 
Pallavas,  inherited  by  the  Chola  power,  which  had  succeeded  kyas." 
to  the  premier  rank  formerly  enjoyed  by  the  Pallavas,  led  to 
a  four  years'  war,  ending  in  the  defeat  of   the  Chalukyas, 
who  had  not  been  long  freed  from  subjection  to  the  Rash- 
trakutas. 

Rajaraja  possessed  a  powerful  navy,  of  which  he  made  full  Naval 
use,  and  his  last  martial  exploit  was  the  acquisition  of  a  large  tions. 
number  of  unspecified  islands,  meaning,  perhaps,  the  Lac- 
cadives  and  Maldives,  in  his  twenty-ninth  year. 

The  magnificent  temple  at  his  capital  Tanjore  (Tanjuvur),  Temple  at 
built  by  his  command,  the  walls  of  which  are  engraved  with  Tanjore. 
the  story  of  his  victories,  as  recorded  in  the  twenty-sixth  year 
of  his  reign,  stands  to  this  day  as  a  memorial  of  Rajaraja's 
brilliant  career.^ 

Although  himself  a  worshipper  of  Siva,  he  was  sufficiently  Buddhism. 

'  A  characteristic  specimen  of  his  coinage  is  shown  in  Fig.  1.5  of  the 
plate  of  coins. 

ie26  H  h 


'^GG         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE   SOUTH 

liberal-minded  to  endow  a  Burmese  Buddhist  temple  at  the 
port  of  Negapatam,  M-here  two  such  temples  continued  to  be 
the  object  of  foreign  pilgrimages  until  the  fifteenth  century. 
One  of  them,  probably  that  endowed  by  llajaraja,  survived 
in  a  ruinous  condition  until  1867,  when  the  remains  of  it 
were  pulled  down  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  utilized  for  the 
construction  of  Christian  buildings.^ 
Rajendra        Rajendra-Choladeva  I,  surnamed  Gangai-konda,  son  and 
konda        successor  of  Rajaraja,  continued  his  father's  ambitious  career, 
ace.  with  added  vigour  and  even  more  conspicuous  success.     His 

fleet,  crossing  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  attacked  and  captured 
Kadaram  (Kidaram),  the  ancient  capital  of  the  kingdom  of 
Prome  or  Pegu,  and  also  the  seaports  of  Takkolam  and 
Matama,  or  Martaban,  on  the  same  coast.  The  fall  of  these 
towns  involved  the  temporary  annexation  of  the  whole  king- 
dom of  Pegu  to  the  Chola  empire.^  Two  granite  pillars  still 
standing  at  the  town  of  Pegu  are  believed  to  have  been  set 
up  by  the  Chola  king  to  commemorate  his  conquest,  which 
was  effected  in  the  years  a.d.  1025-7.^  The  annexation  of 
the  Nicobar  (Nakkavaram)  and  Andaman  islands  followed  on 
the  conquest  of  Pegu. 
His  wars  During  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign  Rfijendra-Choladeva 
capital.  Ji'i^^  occupied  himself  with  a  succession  of  wars  against  the 
northern  powers.  He  came  into  collision  even  with  Mahipala, 
king  of  Bihfir  and  Bengal,  and  brought  his  army  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ganges.  In  memory  of  this  exploit  he  assumed  the 
title  of  Gangaikonda,  and  built  a  new  capital  city,  which  he 
called  Gangaikonda-Cholapuram.  Near  the  city  he  con- 
structed a  vast  artificial  lake,  with  an  embankment  16 
miles  long,  fully  provided  with  the  necessary  sluices  and 
channels  for  the  irrigation  of  a  large  area.  The  city  was 
adorned    by   a   magnificent    palace   and    a    gigantic    temple, 

^  /n(Z.  ^n<.,  vii,  2:^1,  with  plates  ;  Prorae    (Ind.    Ant.,   xxii,  (i.    160). 

Mndran   O.  O.,  PnNlr,  Nos.    i)22,  Takkolam -Takola  of  Ptolemy  (Bk. 

VJ-.i,  dated  Aug.  li),  18!»!).  vii,  cli.  2,  .5  ;    hid.  Ant.,  xiii,  'il2), 

*  V.  Kanakasabliai,   'The   Con-  and  is  now  called  Ayetheina  (ibid. , 

(jucst   of   Bcnfi^al   and   Burma   by  xxi,  383),  some  miles  from  the  pre- 

tlie  Tamils  '  (Mndran  lua-lew,  ]iH)2,  sent  coast. 

j>.  2:A).     Kidaram  is  supposed  to  ^  Archaeol.    S.    Burma,    Progr. 

be   Tlinrekhcttra,  8  miles  west  of  Rep.,  1906-7,  p.  19. 


WARS   WITH   CHALUKYAS  467 

enshrining  a  lingam  formed  of  u  black  granite  monolith  30 
feet  high.  The  ruins  of  these  structures,  sadly  defaced  by 
the  ravages  of  modern  utilitarians  in  search  of  building 
materijil,  still  stand  in  lonely  grandeur  in  a  desolate  region 
of  the  Trichinopoly  District.  The  sculptures  in  the  temples 
are  of  singular  excellence.^  The  Pandya  dominions  con- 
tinued to  be  subject  to  the  Chola  domination  during  the 
reign  of  Rajendra  Gangaikonda,  and  were  administered  by 
his  son  as  Viceroy,  with  the  title  of  Chola-Pandya.^ 

Rajadhiraja,  eldest  son  of  Rajendra,  who   had   been   his  Raja- 
father's  colleague  since  1018,  succeeded  him  in  a.  d.  1035,  and  yurardfa 

continued  the  never-endinij  fis^ht  with  all  the  neighbouring  a- d.KUH; 

king 
powers.^     He  fell  in  the  fierce  struggle  with  the  Chalukya  ^.u.  1035. 

army  at  the  battle  of  Koppam  in  a.d.  1052  or  1053,  which 
determined  that  the  Tungabhadra  river  should  be  the  frontier 
between  the  rival  Chola  and  Chalukya  empires.  Notwith- 
standing the  death  of  Rajadhiraja,  the  fortunes  of  the  day 
were  retrieved  by  his  brother  Rajendra  Parakesarivarman, 
who  was  crowned  on  the  battle-field  as  his  successor. 

The  customary  wars  went  on  during  the  reigns  of  this  king 
and  three  kings  who  succeeded  him,  but  few  of  the  details  are 

worthy  of  remembrance.     A  notable  incident  was  the  battle  Battle  of 

.  .  Kudal 

of  Kiidal  Sangamam,  fought  at  the  junction  of  the  Krishna  Sanga- 

and  Tungabhadra  rivers,  in  which  the  Chalukyas  suffered  mam. 

a  severe  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Virarajendra  Chola  (ace. 

A.D.  1062-3).     In  the  civil  war  between  the  brothers  and 

rival  claimants  to  the  Chalukya  throne — Somesvara  II  and 

Vikramaditya — Virarajendra  took  the  side  of  the  latter^  and 

gave  him  his  daughter  in  marriage. 

The  death  of  Virarajendra  (a.d.  1070)  was  followed  by  A  revolu- 
tion : 

1  Hist,  of  Fine  Art  in  India  and  chronology  has  been  settled  by 
Ceylon,  figs.  159-61,  A  detailed  Prof.  Kielhovn  {Ep.  Ind.,  \ni,  App. 
survey  and  description  of  the  site,  ii,  26).  The  references  in  detail  to 
fully  illustrated,  would  be  of  much  inscriptions  can  be  traced  through 
interest.  the  paper  cited.     Later  discoveries 

2  Report  OH  Epigraphy, m  Madras  will  be  found  in  the  Reports  on 
G.  0.  Public,  No.  503,  dated  June  Epiyraphy  in  Madras  G.  0.,  Public, 
27,  1907,  para.  25.  No."  492,  dated  July  2,  1906,  and 

3  The  Chola  practice  of  appoint-  No.  503,  dated  June  26,  1907,  and 
ing  the  Crown  IPrince,  or  yuvaraja,  subsequent  issues,  as  well  as  in  Ep. 
as    his   father's    colleague    causes  Ind.  to  date. 

the  regnal  years  to  overlap.     The 

U  h  2 


468         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

Adhirajen-  <i  disputed  succession  and  civil  war.  Vikramaditya  Clialukya, 
having  established  himself  on  the  throne  of  the  Deccan,  came 
to  tlie  aid  of  his  brothei'-in-la\v,  Adi)irajendra,  and  succeeded 
in  making  him  king  of  the  Chola  realm  (1072).  But  the  new 
sovereign  proved  to  be  unpopular^  and  was  assassinated  two 
years  later  (1074).  With  him  the  direct  line  in  male  succes- 
sion of  the  great  mediaeval  Cholas  came  to  an  end. 
Chalukya-  Adhirajendra  appears  to  have  left  no  issue  capable  of  ruling, 
dynasty;    '^'^^^  ^"  ^^''^^  succeeded  by  his  relative  Rajendra,  subsequently 

Kulot-        known    as    Kulottunga    I.     Raiendra,    whose    mother    was 

tunga  I,  »  J     .        J 

A.n.  1070-  Ji  daughter  of  the  famous  Gangaikonda  Chola,  was  the  son 

^^^^-  of  the  Eastern  Chalukya  prince  of  Vengi  who  had  died  in 

1062.  But  Rajendra  had  preferred  to  remain  at  tiie  Chola 
court,  and  had  allowed  liis  uncle  to  rule  Vengi  for  some  years. 
In  1070  Rajendra  was  crowned  as  lord  of  Vengi,  and  four 
years  later,  M'hen  Adhirajendra  was  murdered,  he  assumed 
the  government  of  the  whole  Chola  territory.  He  thus 
founded  a  new  Chalukya-Chola  dynasty,  taking  the  title  of 
Kulottunga  Chola.  He  was  worthy  of  his  position  and  ruled 
his  extensive  dominions  successfully  for  forty-nine  years. 
He  reconquered  Kalinga,  defeating  the  Eastern  Ganga  king, 
Anantavarman  Choda.  His  internal  administration  was 
distinguished  by  the  execution  of  an  elaborate  revision  of 
the  revenue  survey  in  a.d.  1086,  the  year  of  the  survey  for 
Domesday  Book. 

Kama-  The  celebrated  philosopher,  Ramanuja,  tiie  most  venerated 

teacher  of  the  Vaishnava  Hindus  in  the  south,  received  his 
education  at  Kancln,  and  resided  at  Srirangam  near  Trichi- 
nopoly  during  the  reign  of  Adhirajendra  ;  but,  owing  to  the 
iiostility  of  the  king,  who  professed  the  Saiva  faith,  was 
obliged  to  retire  into  Mysore  territory  until  Adhirajendra's 
deatii  freed  iiim  from  anxiety.  The  holy  man  then  returned 
to  Srirangam,  where  he  remained  until  his  decease.^ 

Vikrama        Vikrama  Chola,   tiie    son    and   successor    of  Kulottunga, 

A  u    1118        '  tor  the  history  of  Adhirajendra,  tonteinporary    metrical    chronicle, 

Kulottunga,  and  Kamanuja,  I  follow  entitled  Jjiiyanfrrirharita,  of  which 

Bhattanatha  Svamin,  '  The  Cholas  he  is   about   to   publish   a   critical 

and  the  Chalukyas  in  the  Eleventli  edition.     The  text  was  printed  in 

Century' {lud.^AiU.,]i)lJ,  pp.  jn-  My.sore  in  18h:>.     The  title  Kulot- 

iTj.     His    article   is   bused    on   a  tunga  means 'highest  in  his  family'. 


THE   PALLAVAS  469 

continued  to  fight  with  his  neighhours  according  to  precedent, 
and  seems  to  liave  succeeded  in  maintaining  the  predominant 
position  of  his  dynasty.^  The  next  three  kings,  who  had 
short  reigns,  were  not  notable  in  any  way. 

The  last  Chola  king  of  any  importance  was  Kulottunga  Kulot- 
Chola  III,  who  reigned  for  about  forty  years  from  a.d.  1287.  ^,""fA.i).  * 
The  succession  was  then  disputed,  and  the  Chola  princes  sank  1287. 
into  a  position  of  insignificance.     For  a  time  the  Pandyas  in 
the  south  reasserted  tliemselves  and  gained  the  upper  hand, 
until    1310,  when  the  power  of   all   the    Hindu   states   in 
Southern  India  was  broken  by  the  successes  of  Malik  Kafur's 
Muhammadan  army  in  that  year  and  following  years.     The 
rapid  development  of  the  Vijayanagar  kingdom  during  the 
fourteenth  century  again  restored   Hindu  authority  in  the 
Peninsula.     The  extreme  South  passed  under  the  rule  of 
Vijayanagar  about  a.d.  1370.^ 

SECTION  IV 

The  PaUavas 

Who  were  the  Pallavas  ?     Whence  did  they  come  ?     How  Origin 
did  they  attain  the  chief  place  among  the  powers  of  the  p  |j  , 
South  ?    To  these  questions  no  definite  answer  can  be  given 
at  present. 

The  name  Pallava  resembles  Pahlava  so  closely  that  most 
writers  have  been  disposed  to  favour  the  hypothesis  that 
Pallavas  and  Pahlavas  were  identical,  and  that  consequently 
the  Southern  Pallava  dynasty  of  Kanchi  should  be  considered 
as  ultimately  of  Persian  origin.  But  recent  research  has 
failed  to  adduce  any  historical  facts  in  support  of  that 
notion,  and  it  seems  more  likely  that  the  Pallavas  were  an 
indigenous  tribe,  clan,  or  caste.^  They  are  sometimes 
identified  with   the   Kurumbas,  who  according  to  tradition 

'  The  exploits  of  Vikiama  Chola  A.  S.,  1909,  p.  682). 

are  the  subject   of  a  Tamil  poem  ^  Mr.  Kea  suggests  that  the  name 

of  some  merit,   entitled   Vikrama-  may   be  Tamil,  derived  from  pal, 

Cholan-Uld  {Ind.  Ant.,  xxii,  142).  '  milk ',  and  the  masculine  termina- 

"^  The  coins  of  the  Muhammadan  tion  -avan  (sing.),  or-avar  (pl.\  and 

Sultans  of  Madura  range  from  A.  D.  thus_be  equivalent  to  the  Gwalas 

1329-30  to  1377-8  (Hultzsch  in  J.  11  and  Ahirs  of  Hindustan. 


470         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

once  occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  Dravida,  from  sea  to  sea ; 
hut,  as  Mr.  A'^enkajya  ohserves,  ' it  is  difficult  to  decide 
whether  the  Kurumhas  were  actually  Pallavas  or  distinct 
from  them.'  The  persistent  hostilitj^  of  the  Pallavas  to 
tlie  territorial  Tamil  states,  and  the  fact  that  tradition  does 
not  assign  any  recognized  territorial  limits  to  the  Pallava 
dominion  are  indications  that  the  Pallavas  were  distinct  in 
race  from  the  Tamils,  and  that  their  rule  was  superimposed 
upon  that  of  the  rajas  of  the  Pandya,  Chola,  and  Chera 
countries,  the  three  states  whicli  together  covered  the  whole 
area  of  the  south,  according  to  constant  tradition.  If  we 
suppose  that  the  Pallavas,  like  the  Marathas  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  were  a  predatory,  blackmailing  clan  or  tribe,  which 
gradually  acquired  by  force  almost  complete  control  of 
the  Chola  state,  and  partial  mastery  over  the  other  Tamil 
kingdoms,  I  think  that  the  known  facts  will  be  found  to 
accord  wath  such  a  supposition. 
Castes  The   raja  of  the   Pudukottai   tributary  principality,   who 

^(.j,  is  the  recognized  head  of  the  Kalhir  tribe,  still  styles  himself 

Pallavas.  Raja  Pallava,  and  claims  descent  from  the  ancient  royal 
family.  The  Kallars,  as  Sir  Walter  Elliot  observes,  '  belong 
to  what  have  been  called  the  predatory  classes,'  and  their 
'  bold,  indomitable,  and  martial  habits '  agree  well  with  the 
characteristics  of  the  ancient  Pallavas  as  known  from  history. 
Until  recent  times  the  Kallars  exercised  a  formidable  control 
over  the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  the  Carnatic,  from  whom 
they  levied  blackmail  in  return  for  protection,  just  as  the 
Marathas  levied  similar  contributions  under  the  name  of 
chauth.  It  seems  to  be  highly  probable  that  the  political 
power  of  the  Pallavas  was  exercised  in  a  similar  maimer, 
its  extent  varying  according  to  the  variations  in  the  relative 
strength  of  the  ancient  Tamil  states  and  that  of  the  usurping 
tribesmen.  The  Palli  caste  and  certain  sections  of  the 
Vellala  agricultural  caste,  which  is  proverbially  associated 
with  the  Kallar  and  Maravar  robber  tribes,  also  claim 
a  connexion  with  the  Pallavas.^     It  may  well  be  that  the 

'  Elliot,  Coins  of  Southern  India,       or  robbers,  who  exercise  their  call- 
pp.  i2  4.     '  The  caste  of  KnJhirs,       ing  as  an  hereditary  right,  is  found 


EARLIEST   PALLAVA   KINGS  471 

so-called  '  predjitory  classes ',  in  which  the  Palhivas  apparently 
should  be  reckoned,  belong  to  a  section  of  the  population 
distinct  from  and  more  ancient  than  the  Tamils.' 

The  earliest  known  documents  of  the  dynasty,  certain  Earliest 
copperplate  grants  found  in  the  Guntfir  District,  tell  us  of  kHies* 
a  king  reigning  at  KanchI  (Conjeevcram),  wiiose  dominions 
included  Amarfivatl,  and  so  extended  to  the  Krishna  (Kistna) 
river.  Those  grants,  which  date  from  about  the  beginning 
of  the  fourth  century  and  are  written  in  Prakrit,  give 
no  indication  of  the  manner  in  which  the  kingdom  was 
acquired.  It  seems  to  be  safe  to  date  its  origin  not  later 
than  the  third  century,  and  we  may  conjecture  that  the 
Pallava  state  arose  from  the  ruins  of  the  Andhra  empire. 
But  it  may  date  from  a  still  earlier  time.  All  authors  are 
agreed  in  regarding  as  a  Pallava  the  Raja  Vishnugopa  of 
KanchI,  who  was  defeated  by  Samudragupta  about  a.  d.  350 ;  , 
and  it  is  probable  that  Hastivarman,  the  contemporary 
Raja  of  Vengi,  also  may  have  been  a  Pallava.  The  names 
Vishnugopa  and  Hastivarman  both  occur  in  Pallava  gene- 
alogies. Simhavarman,  king  of  Kanchi  [ace.  a.d.  437)^  was 
a  Buddhist.^  Such  isolated  scraps  of  information  are  all  that 
is  known  about  the  early  Pallava  kings. 

From  the  second  half  of  the  sixth  century,  when  Ciialukya  simha- 
history  begins,  until  the  overthrow  of  the  Chalukya  power  by  vishnu. 
the  Rashtrakutas,  in  a.  d.  753,  the  Pallavas  and  Chalukyas, 

only  in  the  Marava  country,  which  and    Ceremonies,   by    Beauchamp, 

borders  on   the  coast,  or  fishing,  3rded.,p.  17). 

districts.    The  rulers  of  the  country  ^  Kadavan,  '  the  forester,'  is  a 

are  of  the  same  caste.    They  regard  Tamil  equivalent  of  the   Sanskrit 

a  robber's  occupation  as  discredit-  Pallava  {Ind.  Ant.,  xxii,  143).     If 

able  neither  to  themselves  nor  to  the  Pallavas  were  of  foreign   and 

their  fellow  castemen,  for  the  simple  ultimately  Persian  descent,  it  is  not 

reason  that  they  consider  robbery  likely  that   they  should   be  called 

a  duty  and  a  right  sanctioned  by  'foresters',  and  be  closely  associated 

descent.    They  are  not  ashamed  of  with  the  Kallars  and  Maravars  of  the 

their  caste  or  occupation,  and   if  extreme  south, 

one   were   to   ask  of  a  Knlhir  to  '  The  date  (l^aka  359),  the  earliest 

what  people  he  belonged,  he  would  known  expressed  in  the  6aka  era,  is 

coolly  answer,   "I  am  a  robber."  deduced   from   the  colophon   of  a 

This  caste  is  looked  upon   in   the  Jain   work   {Arch.    S.    of  Mysore, 

district    of    Madura,   where    it   is  Report,    1908-9,    p.   31;    1909-10, 

widely  diffused,  as  one  of  the  most  para.    115).     For  remarks  on  the 

distinguished  among  the   Sudras '  early  Pallavas,  see  Elliot,  Coins  of 

(Dubois,  Hindu  Manners,  Customs,  Southern  India,  p.   39;    and  Kiel- 
horn  (/i'/).  Ind.,  viii,  App.  II,  p.  19), 


472         THE   KINGDOMS   OF  THE  SOUTH 

who  regarded  each  other  as  ^enemies  by  nature^,  remained 
constantly  in  touch  and  generally  at  war,  each  power  striving 
to  ac({uire  for  itself  the  mastery  of  the  South.  During  this 
period  of  about  two  centuries  the  Pallava  royal  genealogy  for 
nine  reigns,  beginning  ^vith  Simhavishnu  (ace.  c.  a.d.  575, 
is  well  ascertained.^  Simhavishnu  claims  to  have  inflicted 
defeats  on  the  kings  of  Ceylon  and  the  three  Tamil  states. 
Mahendra-  Mahendravarman  I,  son  and  successor  of  Simhavishnu 
his  public'  (c-  A.  D.  600  to  625),  has  immortalized  his  name  by  the 
works,  excavation  of  many  rock-cut  temples  in  the  Trichinopoly, 
Chingleput,  North  Arcot,  and  South  Arcot  Districts.  His 
fame  is  also  preserved  by  the  ruins  of  the  city  of  Mahendra- 
vadi,  between  Arcot  and  Arkonam,  and  of  a  great  reservoir, 
the  Mahendra  tank,  near  the  same.  A  cave  temple  dedicated 
to  Vishnu  exists  on  the  bank  of  the  tank.^ 
His  wars.  In  war  Mahendravarman  encountered  a  formidable  rival  in 
the  person  of  the  ambitious  Chalukya  monarch,  Pulakesin  H, 
who  boasted  of  having  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  on  the  Pallava 
king  about  a.d.  609  or  610.  At  or  about  the  same  time 
the  Chalukya  king  annexed  the  province  of  Vengi,  the 
northern  portion  of  the  Pallava  dominions,  and  made  it  over 
to  the  government  of  his  younger  brother,  the  founder  of  the 
Eastern  Chalukya  dynasty.  It  is  probable  that  the  loss  of 
Vengi  stimulated  the  Pallavas  to  push  forward  their  southern 
frontier,  and  it  is  certain  that  Mahendravarman  held 
Trichinopoly.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  Jain  originally, 
and  to  have  been  converted  to  faith  in  Siva  by  a  famous 
Tamil  saint.  The  king,  after  his  conversion,  destroyed  the 
large    Jain    monastery   at   Pataliputtiram    in    South  Arcot, 

*  Full  details  given  by  Prof.  Kiel-  the   Archaeol.  Survey.     Mr.  Ven- 

horn  ^op.  cit.,  p.  20).     The  follow-  kayya's  premature  death  is  matter 

iriK  observations,  except  as  other-  for  deep  regret. 

vnse    stated,   are    based   on   three  '  Bcport  on  Epigraphy  in  Madras 

publications,  namely  (l)Venkavya,  G.  0.,  Public,  No.  .518,  dated  July 

'The  VaWiiVdH' (A.  S.I. ,Jnv.Jl(>p.  18,     1905,     p.    47;     Archaeol.    S. 

190fi-7,  pp.  217-43);  (2)  Hultzsch,  Annual.  Rep.,  1903-4,  p.  203.     In 

'The   Pallava   Inscriptions   of  the  1883,  when  Mr.  Sewell  inserted  a 

Seven  Pagodas'  {Ep.  Ind.,  vol.  x  note  on  Mahendra vadi  in  his  Lists 

(July,    1909),   pp.    1-14);    and    (3)  of  Antiquities, Madras,  vol  i,p.  162, 

Rea,    Pallava   Architecture,    1909,  the  Pallava  origin  of  the  remains 

with  cxxiv  plates,  being  vol.  xxxiv  was  not  known, 
of    the    4to     Imperial     Series     of 


-    if 


NARASIMHA-VARMAN  473 

replacing  it  by  a  Saiva  fane.     It  is  interesting  to  find  the 

name   of   the   old    imperial   capital   brought    down    to   the 

neighbourhood  of  Madras,  presumably  by  the  Jains. 

The  Pallava  power  attained  its  highest  point  in  the  reign  Xara- 

of  Mahendravarman's  successor,  Xarasimha-varman  I  (c.  a.  d.  simha- 

varraan, 
62o-4o).     In  A.D.  642  he  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  taking  r.A.n.  6^5- 

Vatapi,  the  capital  of  his  enemy,  Pulakesin  II,  who  presuni-  ' 
ably  then  lost  his  life.  It  is  certain  that  the  reverse  was 
so  crushing  that  the  Chalukya  power  remained  in  abeyance 
for  thirteen  years,  while  the  Pallava  king  became  beyond 
dispute  the  most  influential  sovereign  in  the  South,  and 
extended  his  jurisdiction  far  into  Mysore  and  the  Deccan. 
The  Pallava  monarch  received  effective  help  in  his  enterprise 
from  a  Sinhalese  prince  named  Manavamma,  who  was 
subsequently  enabled  to  seize  the  island  crown  by  means  of 
an  army  equipped  by  the  grateful  Indian  king.^ 

Hiuen  Tsang,  Mho  visited  Kanchi  (Conjeeveram)  in  Hiuen 
A.D.  640,  during  the  reign  of  Narasimha-varman  I,  and  xln"^!? 
stayed  there  for  a  considerable  time,  calls  the  country  of  ^■^-  6*^'- 
which  Kanchi  was  the  capital  by  the  name  of  Dravida, 
and  describes  it  as  being  about  1,000  miles  in  circuit.  It 
corresponded,  therefore,  very  closely  with  the  traditional 
*  Chola  country '  between  the  Northern  Pennar  and  the 
Southern  Yellaru  rivers.  The  soil  was  fertile  and  regularly 
cultivated,  producing  abundance  of  grain,  flowers,  and  fruits. 
The  capital  was  a  large  city  5  or  6  miles  in  circumference. 
In  the  kingdom  the  pilgrim  found  more  than  a  hundred 
Buddhist  monasteries,^  occupied  by  a  large  number  of  monks, 
estimated  at  above  ten  thousand,  all  attached,  like  the  majo- 
rity of  the  Ceylonese,  to  the  Sthavira  school  of  the  Mahayana. 
The  Hindu,  including  the  Jain,  temples  numbered  about  four- 
score, and,  as  in  other  parts  of  Southern  India,  the  sect  of 
nude,  or  Digambara,  Jains  had  many  adherents.  In  the 
Pandya  countn,'  farther  south  Buddhism  was  almost  extinct. 
Kanchi,  which  is  reckoned  among  the  seven  Hindu  sacred 

^  Mahdvamsa,  part  ii,  chap,  xlvii,  men  of  the  country ',  stood  to  the 

*  Where   are  the  ruins  of  these  south  of  Kanchi,  and  a  stiipa  built 

monasteries?     One  large  buUding,  by  Asoka,  100  feet  high,  adjoined  it. 
'  a  rendezvous  for  the  most  eminent 


474 


THE   KINGDOMS  OF  THE   SOUTH 


Monu- 
ments. 


Parame- 

6vara- 

varman. 


Nandi- 
varman. 


cities,  enjoyed  special  fame  among  the  Buddhists  as  having 
been  the  birthplace  of  Dharmapala,  a  celebrated  metaphy- 
sician, who  was  the  predecessor  of  Hiuen  Tsang's  teacher 
Sllabhadra  in  the  headship  of  the  great  monastery  at 
Nalanda.^ 

The  earliest  of  the  remarkable  monolithic  temples  known 
as  the  Seven  Pagodas  at  Mamallapuram,  namely  that  now 
called  the  Dharmaraja  Ratha,  was  the  work  of  Mahendra- 
varman,  who  bore  the  title  of  Mahamalla,  or  '^ great  champion,' 
from  M'hich  the  name  of  the  place  is  derived.  The  other 
similar  shrines  were  wrought  under  the  orders  of  later  Pallava 
kings  down  to  about  the  time  when  KanchI  was  taken  by  its 
hereditary  enemies."  That  calamity  probably  explains  the 
fact  that  some  of  the  shrines  were  never  completed. 

The  noble  temple  now  called  Kailasanatha  at  Kanchi  was 
built  by  Narasimha-varman  H,  also  named  Rajasimha. 

In  or  about  a.d.  655  Vikramaditya  I  Chalukya,  a  son 
of  Pulakesin,  retrieved  the  fortunes  of  his  family,  and  re- 
covered his  father's  dominions  from  Paramesvara-varman, 
who  had  succeeded  to  the  Pallava  throne.  During  this  war 
Kanchi,  the  Pallava  capital,  was  taken  and  occupied  for 
a  time  by  the  Chalukyas.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Pallavas 
claimed  the  gain  of  a  victory  at  Peruvalanalliir. 

The  perennial  conflict  continued  during  succeeding  reigns. 
In  A.D.  740  Kjinchi  was  captured  once  more  by  Vikrama- 
ditya II  Chalukya,  who  inflicted  on  Nandivarman  Pallava  a 
defeat  so  decisive  that  the  event  may  be  regarded  as  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end  of  the  Pallava  supremacy.  Nandivarman,  who 
had  succeeded  Narasimha-varman  II  about  a.d.  720,  was 
a  collateral  relative  of  that  prince,  being  descended  from 
a  brother  of  King  Simhavishnu.  Tiie  change  in  the  line  of 
succession  is  stated  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  popular 
election ;  and  a  curious  series  of  sculptures,  accompanied  by 


1  Real,  Rpcordx,  ii,  228-30 ;  Life, 
pp.  138-40;  Waiters,  ii,  22(i  8 ; 
1-tsing,  llecords  of  the  Binhlhht 
]ii'li(/i(m,  transl.  Takakusu ;  pp. 
Ivii.'lviii,  179,  181. 

^  The  name  of  the  place  assumes 
inaiiy  forms — suchas  Mavalivaram, 


Mahabalipiir,  Mahavellipore,  &c., 
but  the  true  name  is  that  given  in 
the  text.  Tlie  forms  which  include 
the  word  Inili  in  one  spelling  or 
another  are  based  on  a  false  etymo- 
logy. 


DECLINE    OF    THE   PALLAVAS  475 

explanatory  labels,  still  extant  in  a  mutilated  form  at  the 
Vaikuntha  Perumal  temple  in  Conjeeveram  (Kanchi),  seems 
to  have  been  designed  as  a  contemporary  record  of  the 
dynastic  revolution.' 

Nandivarman  reigned  for  about  half  a  century,  and  was  Apanijita. 
succeeded  by  Aparfijita,  who  vanquished  the  Pandya  king, 
Varaguna  II,  at  the  battle  of  Sri-Purambiya,  but  was  himself 
overcome  by  Aditya  Chola  about  the  close  of  the  ninth 
century.^  From  that  time  the  Pallava  supremacy,  which  had 
been  severely  shaken  by  the  Chalukya  successes  in  740, 
finally  passed  away  and  was  transferred  to  the  Cholas,  who, 
as  already  narrated,  brought  all  the  southern  kingdoms  under 
their  control  more  or  less  completely  during  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries. 

During  their  period  of  decline  the  Pallava  chiefs  managed  Wars  witli 
to  do  some  fighting  on  their  own  account.  When  the  Rsshtra- 
Rashtrakutas  supplemented  the  Chalukyas  in  the  middle  of 
the  eighth  century,  the  traditional  hostility  between  the 
leading  power  of  the  Deccan  and  its  southern  enemy  was 
not  abated,  and  the  new  rulers  took  up  the  old  quarrel  with 
the  Pallavas.  King  Dhruva,  a  cousin  of  Dantidurga,  who 
had  overthrown  the  Chalukya  dynasty,  inflicted  a  defeat  on 
the  Pallavas  about  a.  d.  775 ;  and  his  son,  Govinda  III, 
levied  tribute  from  Dantiga,  Raja  of  Kanchi,  in  a.d.  803. 

During    the   tenth  century  we  hear  of  wars  between  the  The 
Pallavas  and  the  Ganga  kings  of  Gangavadi,  or  Mysore,  who  Gangas. 
are  now  commonly  known  as  the  Western  Gangas,  in  order      t'  *.'"' 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  family  of  the  same  name  which 
ruled  Kalinga  in  the  east,  and  held  court  at  Kalinganagaram, 
the   modern    Mukhalingam    in   the   Ganjam  District.     The 
most  notable  king  of  the  Eastern  Gangas  of  Kalinga  was 
Anantavarman    Chodaganga,    who   reigned   for   seventy-one 
years  from  a.d.  1076  to  1147,  and  carved  out  for  himself 
a  considerable  kingdom,  extending  from  the  Ganges  to  the 
Godavari.     He  built  tlie  temple  of  Jagannatii  at  Puri." 

^  Report  on  Epigraphy  m  I] ((dr<ts  dated  July  2,  1906,   paras.  9,  25; 

G.  O.,  Public,  No.  492,  dated  July  and  No.  502,  dated  June  27,  1907. 

2,  1906,  paras.  2-4.  paras.  8,  19-24. 

*  Reports      on     Epigraphy     in  ^  Monmohan  Chakravarti, '  Chro- 

Madras   G.    O.,  Public,   No.    492,  nology  of  the  Eastern  Ganga  kings 


476         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

The  last  The  later  Pallava  chiefs  sank  into  the  position  of  mere 
PalJavas.  feudatory  nobles  and  officials  in  the  service  of  the  territorial 
kingdoms ;  and  it  is  on  record  that  the  Pallava  Raja  took 
the  first  place  among  the  feudatories  of  King  Vikrama  Chola 
early  in  the  twelfth  century.^  The  rajas  can  be  traced  as  in 
possession  of  limited  local  power  down  to  the  thirteenth 
centurj',  and  Pallava  nobles  are  mentioned  as  late  as  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  After  that  time  all  trace 
of  the  Pallavas  as  a  distinct  race  or  clan  disappears,  and 
their  blood  is  now  merged  in  that  of  the  Kallar,  Palli,  and 
Vellala  castes.^ 
Religion.  The  earliest  Pallava  king  who  can  be  precisely  dated, 
Simhavarman,  in  the  fifth  century,  presented  an  image  at 
Amaravati  and  is  expressly  described  as  being  a  lay 
worshipper  of  Buddha.  Probably  other  members  of  the 
dynasty  also  were  Buddhists.^  Several  princes  were  specially 
devoted  to  the  cult  of  Vishnu.*  Mahendravarman,  who  was 
a  Jain  in  early  life,  at  first  persecuted  the  followers  of  Siva, 
but  was  converted  to  the  Saiva  creed  and  turned  against 
his  former  co-religionists,  whose  principal  monastery  he 
destroyed.^ 

Usually,  however,  the  adherents  of  rival  creeds  seem  to 
have  lived  together  in  peace  and  to  have  enjoyed  the 
impartial  protection  of  the  government.  The  narrative  of 
Hiuen  Tsang  implies  that  such  was  the  case  in  a.d.  640.'' 

of  Orissa,'  an  excellent  monograph  Archaeol.  Survey ;   Kiclhorn's  List 

in  /.   A.  S.  B„  vol.    Ixxii,  part  i  and  Supplement  (Ep.  Ind.,  vii,  viii, 

(1903).     For   Mukhalingam,  about  App.),  and  other  works  cited  above. 

20     miles     distant     from     Parla-  ^  Amaravati  inscr.  No.  39  {S.  I. 

Kimedi,  see  Ep.  Ind.,  iv,  183-93,  Inscr.,  vol.  i,  p.  25).     This  record 

and   Madras   G.    0.,  Public,   Nos.  is  to  be  read  from  the  bottom  up- 

827-9,  dated  Aug.  25,  1902.     The  wards.    I  assume  the  identity  of  the 

history  of  the  Western  Gafigas  has  Buddhist    Simhavarman    with   the 

been   discussed   by    Dr.    Fleet    in  king    who   came  to  the  throne  in 

Kanarfse  I>yn((sties.  a.  n.  437(Saka359).  Tiie  inscription 

^  Ind.  Ant.,  xxii,  143.  may  be  a  copy  of  an  older  docii- 

*  The   contents   of   the    Pallava  raent  (Venkayya,  op,  cit.,  p.  240, 

inscriptions  as  known  up  to   1896  note  9). 

are  summarized  by  Fleet  in  Bomb.  *  Hastivarman  (Attivarma\Vija- 

Gaz.   '1S9()\  vol.  i,  part  ii,  'Dynas-  yaskandavarman,  and  Vishnugopa- 

ties  of  the  Kanarese  Districts,'  2nd  varman. 

ed.     Recent    discoveries    are    de-  '  Venkayya,    op.    cit.,    p.    23,5, 

scribed  in  .ST.  /.  Inscriptions,  the  an-  notes, 
nual  Progress  Reports  of  the  Madras 


EPILOGUE  477 

All  the  later  Pall.iva  kings,  aj)[)ai'ently,  were  worshippers  of 
Siva,  whose  emblem,  the  bull,  was  adopted  as  the  family 
crest.  Two  of  the  kings  were  so  zealous  for  religion  that 
they  have  been  ineluded  in  the  list  of  sixty-three  Saiva  saints/ 

My  task — a  labour  of  love — is  now  ended,  and  this  book  Epilogue, 
goes  forth  onee  more  in  its  new  form  which,  so  far  as  the 
author  is  concerned,  is  not  unlikely  to  be  final.  Planned 
twenty-five  years  ago,  it  ap])eared  for  the  first  time  sixteen 
years  later  in  a  very  imperfect  shape.  The  generous  recep- 
tion accorded  to  that  faulty  pioneer  attempt  encourages 
the  hope  that  this  much  improved  edition  may  be  of  still 
greater  service  in  guiding  and  stimulating  the  study  of 
the  early  history  of  India,  now  pursued  with  laudable 
ardour  by  a  multitude  of  her  sons  as  well  as  by  foreigners. 
The  dark  spots  in  the  path  of  the  historian  are  illumined 
almost  daily  by  so  many  rays  of  new  light,  that  my  successors 
beyond  doubt  will  be  able  to  walk  confidently  in  slippery 
places  where  my  steps  are  necessarily  faltering  and  uncertain. 

The  volume  deals  with  the  political  history  of  Hindu 
India,  the  land  of  the  Brahmans,  which  is  the  real  India — 
a  land  the  fascination  of  which  is  largely  due  to  the  unique 
character  of  its  civilization.  That  quality  of  strangeness 
makes  the  history  of  Hindu  India  less  attractive  to  the 
European  or  American  general  reader  than  the  more  easily 
intelligible  story  of  the  Muslim  and  British  conquerors,  but 
anybody  who  desires  to  understand  modern  India  must  be 
content  to  spend  some  labour  on  the  study  of  ancient  India 
during  the  long  ages  of  autonomy. 

The  political  history  of  India  cannot  vie  witii  that  of 
Greece,  Rome,  or  modern  Europe  as  illustrating  the  evo- 
lution of  constitutions  in  city  or  state.  Indians,  like  other 
Asiatic  peoples,  usvudly  have  been  content  with  simple  despotic 
rule,  so  that  the  difference  between  one  government  and 
another  has  lain  in  the  personal  characters  and  abilities  of 
the  several  despots  rather  than  in  the  changes  consequent 
upon  the  gradual  development  of  institutions.  The  regula- 
tions devised  by  able  individual  autocrats,  such  as  Chandra- 
1  Ibid.,  p.  229,  note  11. 


478         THE   KINGDOMS   OF   THE   SOUTH 

gupta  Mauiya,  Asoka,  and  Akbar,  have  mostly  perished 
with  their  authors.  The  nascent  Indian  constitution  now 
in  course  of  construction  is  a  foreign  importation,  imperfectly 
intelligible  to  the  people  for  whose  benefit  it  is  intended, 
and  never  likely  to  be  thoroughly  acclimatized. 

The  most  important  branch  of  Indian  history  is  the  history 
of  her  thought.  For  the  adequate  presentation  of  the  story 
of  Indian  ideas  in  the  fields  of  philosophy,  religion,  science, 
art,  and  literature,  a  chronological  narrative  of  the  political 
vicissitudes  of  the  land  is  the  indispensable  foundation. 
Readers  who  may  find  such  a  narrative  dry,  or  at  times  even 
repellent,  may  take  comfort  in  the  conviction  tliat  its  exis- 
tence will  render  possible  the  composition  of  more  attractive 
disquisitions,  arranged  with  due  regard  to  the  order  of  time. 


INDEX 


Abastanoi,  tribe,  99. 

Abbancs,  Icgondaiy  merchant,  232. 

Abdagases,    Indo-Parthian     king, 

_  230. 

Abhira  tribe,  274,  286. 

Abhisara,  country  in  lower  hills, 
59,  60,  63,  88,  354  n. 

Abreas,  defended  Alexander,  96. 

Abu,  Mount,  412. 

Abu-Rihan  =  Alberunl,  q.  v.,  15  n. 

Academy  of  Madura,  453. 

Achaemenian  dynasty,  62  n. 

Acbalgarh,  Pawars  at,  395,  412. 

Achdrasdra,  433  n. 

Achchhankovil  Pass,  446. 

Achiravati,  river,  159  n. 

Acts  of  St.  Thomas  cited,  231. 

Adhirajendra  Chola,  468. 

Adisura,  king  of  Bengal,  397. 

Aditya,  Chola  king,  454,  463,  475. 

Adityasena,  of  later  Gupta  dynasty, 

_313. 

Adi  Varaha,  title  of  Bhoja,  380. 

Admiralty  board  of  Chandragupta 
Maurya,  126. 

Adraistai  clan ,  74. 

Agalassoi,  tribe,  93. 

Agathokleia,  queen,  242. 

Agathokles,  Indo-Greek  king,  224, 
242. 

Agesilaos,  in  Kanishka's  inscrip- 
tion, 240  n.,  262  n. 

Agnikula  clans,  412. 

Agnimitra,  Sunga  king,  198-201. 

Agni  Purdna,  used  by  Bana,  22. 

Agra  Province,  365. 

Agrammcs,  Nanda  king,  40,  41  n. 

Agrianian  light  infantry,  51. 

Ahasuerus,  king  of  Persia,  103  n. 

Ahavamalla,  Chalukya  king,  431. 

Ahichhatra,  city,  377. 

Ahinposh  stupa,  241  n. 

Ahmadabad,  city,  315. 

Ahom  tribe,  370. 

Ajanta,  caves  and  frescoes  at,  306, 
426. 

Ajata!iatru  =  Kunika,  32  :  history 
of,  32-9,  45,  46,  48. 

Ajayadeva,  (1)  king  of  Gujarat, 
203  n.  :  (2)  Chauhan,  386  n. 


Ajivika  sect,  165,  166,  169,  197. 

AjraSr,  inscribed  Sanskrit  plays  at, 
15,  887  :  kings  of,  386. 

Ajodbya,  in  Gupta  period,  293, 
334  :  alleged  Chalukya  origin 
from,  424. 

Akbar,  compared  with  Samudra- 
gupta,  289  :  and  with  Harsha, 
347  :  annexed  Kashmir,  375  : 
and  Mfilwa,  396. 

Akesines  =  Chinab  river,  73,  81  : 
return  of  Alexander  to,  88  :  con- 
fluence with  Hydaspes  of,  91  : 
changes  in  course  of,  91 ,  93  n.  : 
confluence  with  the  Indus  of,  98  : 
date  of  passage  of,  114. 

Alaric  the  Goth,  443. 

Ala-ud-dln,  Sultan  of  Delhi,  285, 
435. 

Alberuni  on  India,  15,  21. 

Alexander,  (1)  the  Great,  chrono- 
logy prior  to,  1  :  histories  of  his 
Indian  campaign,  3  :  reports  of 
his  officers,  4, 12  :  dynasties  before, 
27  :  found  the  Indus  boundary  of 
India,  38  :  contemporary  with 
Nanda  dynasty,  40  :  met  Chan- 
dragupta Maurya,  40,  117: 
troubles  after  death  of,  43 : 
crossed  Hindu  Kush,  49:  advanced 
to  Nikaia  (1),  50 :  wounded  in 
Kunar  valley,  51  :  defeated  As- 
l^asians,  52  :  received  submission 
of  Nysa,  53  :  stormed  Massaga, 
and  again  wounded,  54 :  mas- 
sacred mercenaries,  55 :  occupied 
Ora  and  Bazira,  57  :  took  Aornos, 
59 :  marched  to  Indus  and  Taxila, 
59,  60  :  gave  investiture  to  Amb- 
bi,   61  :  advanced  to   Hydaspes, 

63  :  prepared  for  passage  of  river, 

64  ;  made  night  march,  65,  82  : 
effected  landing,  65  :  tactics  of, 
66 :  captured  Poros  (1),  09  : 
founded  Boukephala  and  Nikaia 
(2),  71  :  crossed  Akesines  and 
Hydraotes,  73:  battle  medal  of, 
72  :  took  Sangala,  74  :  arrived  at 
Hyphasis,  75  :  built  altars,  76 : 
honoured  by  Chandragupta  Maur- 


480 


INDEX 


ya,  77  m.  :  camped  at  Jililam,  82, 
88  :  fouglit  battle  early  in  July, 
87:  promoted  Toros  (1),  89: 
started  on  voj'iige,  90 :  occupied 
capital  of  Sopliytes,  90  :  reached 
lirst  confluence,  91 :  conquered 
the  Siboi  and  Agalassoi,  93  :  at- 
tacked the  Mallei,  9i,  95 :  dan- 
gerously wounded,  96 :  continued 
voyage  to  fourth  confluence,  98  : 
appointed  satraps,  99  :  advanced 
into  Sind,  100 :  attacked  Oxyka- 
nos  and  Sambos,  101  :  advanced 
to  Patala,  102  :  reached  the  sea, 
103 :  prepared  for  return  to  Persia, 
104  :  dispatched  Nearchos,  105  : 
sent  Leonnatos  against  the 
Oreitai,  106  :  met  Nearchos,  108  : 
suffered  much  in  Gedrosia,  109  : 
entered  Susa  in  April,  324  u.  c, 
109,  114  :  succeeded  in  his  enter- 
prises, 111  :  effects  of  his  death, 
112, 115  :  chronology  of  his  Indian 
campaign,  113  :  ignored  by  In- 
dian writers,  113,  410  :  appointed 
Eudemos,  &c.,  to  charge  of 
provinces,  115  :  wars  of  his  suc- 
cessors, 118  :  transitory  efiects  of 
bis  raid,  112,  116,  238:  Indian 
civilization  in  time  of,  135 :  relied 
on  cavalry,  146  :  legend  of,  171  : 

(2)  king^f   Epirus,    184,    196: 

(3)  Severus,  Koman  emperor, 
278. 

Alexander's  Haven,  near  Karachi, 

106. 
Alexandria,  (1)  under  the  Caucasus, 

49  :    (2)    in    Egypt,    Caracalla's 

massacre  at,  446  ».,  452, 
Alexandrian  models  of  Indian  art, 

239  :  commerce,  291. 
Allahabad,  Asoka  pillar  at,  170  n. 
AUitrochates  =  Amitraghata,   q.  v., 

146  n. 
Alopen,       introduced       Nestorian 

Christianity  into  China,  359. 
Alor,  ancient  cai)ital  of  Sind,  100, 

355. 
Alphabet,  Tibetan,  361 :  Vatteluttu, 

458. 
Alphabets,  origin  of  Indian,  28  n. 
Altambh  =  lltutmish,  q.  v. 
Altai's  of  Alexander,  76-8. 
AmaravatI,  town,  403,  471,  476. 
Amazonian  body-guard,  123. 
Ambela  Pass,  60  n. 
Ambhi  =  kingOmphis,  60-2,  110. 
Ambu.'itahi,  lilnpa,  186 /(. 
Amidu,  siege  of,  274,  278. 


Amitraghata  (Amitrochates),  title 

of  Bindusara,  146. 
Amoghavarsha  I,  II,  III,  Rashtra- 

kiita  kings,  429. 
Amritsar,  city,  81. 
Amisuvarman,  king  of  Nepal,  366. 
Amu  Daiya,  Oxus  river,  220. 
Amj-ntas,  Indo-Greek  king,  242. 
Anamis,  river,  109. 
Ananda,  queen,  311. 
Anandapura,  country  of,  323. 
Ananda  Vikrama  era,  42  n.,  387  n. 
Anandpal,  king  of  the  Panjab,  382, 

392. 
Anangapala,  Tomara  Raja  of  Delhi, 

386. 
Anantavarraan      Choda,     Eastern 

Ganga  king,  468,  475. 
Andaman   Islands,  Chola  annexa- 
tion of,  466. 
Andhra  dynastic  history,  20, 126  «., 

194,  206-18  :  kingdom,  162,  184, 

423,  additions. 
Andragoras,     alleged     viceroy     oi 

Parthia,  222  n. 
Andrapolis,  legendary  city,  232  n., 

233. 
Androkottos  -  Chandragupta  Mau- 

rya,  q.  v.,  43  n.,  119  n. 
Androsthenes  of  Cyzicus,  223. 
Anga  kingdom,  31. 
Anhihvara,  city,  314,  381,  389. 
Animal  life,  sanctity  of,  175-7,  181, 

183,  202. 
Ansumat,  legendary  hero,  201. 
Antialkidas,  Indo-Greek  king,  224, 

242. 
Antigonos,  (1)   rival   of  Eumencs, 

115:  (2)  Gonatas,  king  of  Mace- 
donia, 184,  197. 
Antimachos  I  and  II,  Indo-Greek 

kings,  215,  242,  244. 
Antiochos,  (1)  the  Great,  222,  239, 

241,     244:     (2)      Hierax,     244: 

(3)  Soter,  147,  190,  220  n.,  244  : 

(4;  Tlieos,  20,  184,  196,  220,  244. 
Aatipater,  unable  to  retain  India, 

115. 
Antoninus  Pius,  Roman  emperor, 

278. 
Anushlrvan      (Khusru,     king     of 

Persia,  321. 
Aornos,  identity  and  siege  of,  56-9. 
Aparajita,  Ganga-Pallavaking,  454, 

464. 
Aphrodisiac  drugs,  145  n. 
Apollodoros  of  Artemita,  213,  223  n. 
Apollodotos,  Indo-Greek  king,  213, 

215,  224,  242. 


INDEX 


481 


Apollonios  of  Tyana,  Indian  travels 

of,  13,  62«.,  77n,  98  n.,  107  n., 

230  «.,  307  n. 
Apollopliancs,  {!)  satrap  of  Gedro- 
_  sia,  lOG:  (2)Indo-Greek  king,242. 
Ara  inscription,  255  n. 
Arab  invadeis,    lOi  n.,    314,   363, 

381. 
Arabioi,  tribe,  106,  107  n.,  111. 
Arabics  (Arabis\  river,  104  «.,  106. 
Arachdsia  =  the  Kandahar  country, 

38,  102,  149  :  Sibyrtios,  satrap  of, 

120. 
Aravalli  mountains,  6  n. 
Arbela,  battle  of,  228  n. 
Archaeology,  results  obtained  from, 

2,  15,  289. 
Archebios,  Indo-Greek  king,  242. 
Archers  of  Xerxes  from  India,  38  n. : 

Alexander's  mounted,  68. 
Archias,  officer  of  Nearchos,  108. 
Architecture,       Indian,       earliest 

examples    of,    135  :    not    Greek, 

240  :     in     Gupta     period,     305  : 

mediaeval,  358. 
Arcot,  North  and  South  Districts, 

472. 
Ardashir,  Sassanian  king,  275  n. 
Aria  =  the  Herat  country,  38,  149. 
Ariana,    cession    of    part   of,    119, 

149-51,  196. 
Arigaion,  town,  52. 
Arikesarin,  Pandya  king,  453. 
Arioi,  in  sixteenth  satrapy,  221. 
Arjuna,  usurper,  352,  353,  359. 
Arjunayana,  tribe,  286. 
Arkonam,  town,  472. 
Armenia,  259  n. 
Arms,  Indian,  66,  125. 
Army,  Maurya,  124-6  :  of  Harsha. 

339. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  quoted,  113  w. 
Arnoraja,  Chauhan,  388  n. 
Aror  =  Alor,  q.  v. 
Arpakkam,  inscription  at,  455. 
Arrian,     on     India,     12 :     Periplua 

ascribed  to,  231  n, 
Arsakes,    (1)    king  of  Ura^a,   88; 

(2)    leader    of    Parthian    revolt, 

222,   244:   (3)  Theos,    Indo-Par- 

thian  king,  228. 
Arsakidan  era,  221  n. 
Art,  Indian,  earliest  examples  of, 
135  :  Gupta,  306 :  mediaeval,  358. 
Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  king  of  Persia, 

12  :  Longimanus,  103  n. 
Artemidoros,     Indo-Greek      king, 

242. 
ArthaMstra,    151-3  :    cited,  123  h., 


125  «.,  128  n.,  129n.,  131  n.,  132  n., 
134  «.,  136  ».,  137-44  «.,  177  Ji., 
178»J.,  179  >t.,  307  n. 

Aruvular,  tribe,  462. 

Aryabliata,  astronomer,  305,  306. 

Aryanization,  process  of,  8. 

Aryavarta,  meaning  of,  283. 

Asandhimitrfi,  legendary  quctn  of 
Asoka,  191. 

Asanga,  328. 

Asioi,  tribe,  226  n. 

Asokn,  extent  of  empire  of,  6,  148, 
161  :  Mysore  edition  of  Minor 
Rock  Edicts  of,  16  :  contemporary 
with  Antiochos  Theos,  20  :  made 
Pfitaliputra  his  permanent 
capital,  36  n.  :  five  s<i</)as  at  Pata- 
liputra  ascribed  to,  41  n.  :  dates 
of  accession  and  death  of,  196, 
197  :  abolished  roval  hunt,  123, 
177  :  Kalinga  Edicts  of,  168 : 
viceroys  of,  129,  163  :  the  '  king's 
men  '  of,  130  :  Tushaspha,  govern- 
or of  Kathiawar  under,  132 : 
mentioned  in  Rudradaman's  in- 
scription, 133:  beginnings  of  art 
and  architecture  in  reign  of,  136  : 
full  name  Asoka-vardhana,  154  ; 
viceroy  of  Taxilaand  Ujjain,  154, 
155  :  annexed  Kalinga,  157,  196  : 
went  on  pilgrimage,  158,  197  : 
ordained  as  monk,  158,160:  death 
of,  192,  197 :  Buddhist  council 
convoked  by,  161:  in  Nepal,  162, 
197  :  buildings  of,  162,  164,  295: 
inscriptions  of,  167,  172  :  legend 
of,  170  :  ethics  of,  175  :  ,in  early 
life  probably  worshipped  Siva.  176: 
enforced  sanctity  of  animal  life, 
176,  177,  202  :  toleration  of,  178: 
appointed  Censors,  180  :  provided 
for  travellers  and  sick,  182,  296, 
344  :  dispatched  foreign  missions, 
184,  196  :  sent  his  brother  Ma- 
hendra  to  Southern  India  and 
Ceylon,  186,  441 :  did  not  send 
mission  to  Pegu,  187 :  made 
Buddhism  a  world-religion,  188  : 
compared  with  Constantino,  189: 
character  of,  190 :  sons  and  suc- 
cesoois  ot,  191-5:  chronology  of, 
196  :  disruption  of  empire  of,  194, 
197,  198,  219 :  Hindu  Kush 
boundary  of  empire  of,  219 : 
Kauishka  legends  resembling 
those  of,  265 :  pillar  erected  at 
Kau^ambl  by,  293  :  imitated  by 
Harsha,  344  :  Puraa-varman  last 
descendant  of,  195,  346  :  caste  of. 


I  1 


482 


INDEX 


407  :     relations    with    Southern 
India  of,  446,  456,  459,  460. 
Asokaradana  legends,  40,  192. 
Aspasian,  tribe,  52. 
Assakenoi,  nation,  54. 
Assam  =  Kamarupa,  q.  v.,  369. 
Assemblies,  five  great  Tamil,  441, 

village,  459,  464. 
AFses,  for  riding,  134. 
Assyria.  259  n. 
Astes  =  Hasti,  q.  v. 
Astola    (Astalu),    enchanted    isle, 

108. 
Astrologers,  control  of,  133. 
Astronomy,  of  Gupta  age,  305. 
A^vaghosha,   Buddhist  saint,   260, 

261  n. 
A^vamedha  =  horse-sacrifice,  q.  v. 
Atharvaveda,  23. 
Athena,  77  n. 
Ati^a,  Buddhist  missionary,    400. 

402. 
Attic  year,  86. 
Attila,  Hun  king,  315. 
Attivarma,  Pallava  king,  476  n. 
Attock  (Atak),  town,  60. 
Augustus,  letter  of  Indian  king  to, 
136    n. :    Kushan    imitations    of 
coins   of,    236,    254  :    temple   at 
Muziris  of,  444  :  Indian  embassy 
to,  277,  462. 
Aurei,    orientalized,    254,    311    n. : 

current  in  S.  India,  444. 
Aurelian,  Roman  emperor,  278. 
Aurelius,  Marcus,  Roman  emperor, 

273,  278. 
Autograph  of  Harsha,  342. 
Autonomous  tribes,  74  «.,  94,  286. 
Avalokite^vara,  Buddhist  incarna- 
tion, 361. 
Avanti  =  Malwa,  q.  v.,  29,  395,  898. 
Avantivarman,  king   of  Kashmir, 

43  ».,  373. 
Ayethema  =  Takkolam,  q.  f.,  466  n. 
Ayu  Mitra,  coins  of,  257  n. 
Azes  I  and  II,  Indo-Parthian  kings, 

229,  230,  240  n. 
Azilises,  Indo-Parthian  king,  230. 

Babur,  used  Khaibar  Pass,  50  n. 
Babylon,     early    commerce    with, 

28   n.  :    death  of  Alexander  at, 

110,  114. 
Babylonian   culture,   2 :    marriage 

custom,  164  n. 
Bacon,  alludes  to  Oxydrakai,  98  n. 
Bactria,    Alexander's  conquest   of, 

49    n.  :     premier    satrapy,    220 : 

revolt  and  history  of,  221-5. 


Badagara,  port,  438. 
Badami  =  Vatapi,  q.  r.,  424. 
Badaun,  city,  394. 
Badin,  in  Sind,  104  n. 
Badis,  Gedrosian  port,  108. 
Badonsachen,     king     of     Burma, 

124  n. 
Bahawalpur,  state,  92. 
Bahlika,  tribe,  274  ;  see  Vahlika. 
Bahmanabad,     probably  =  Patala, 

103. 
Bah  ram  II,  king,  273. 
Baidya  caste,  403. 
Bairat,    Aboka's     inscriptions     at, 

167  n.,  168,  172. 
Bajaur,  valley,  52,  54. 
Bakarai,  port,  450  «.,  457. 
Bakhira,  pillar,  159  n.  '"" 

Bakhtyar,  Muhammad,  son  of,  q.  v., 

371. 
Bakrala  Pass,  63  n. 
Baladitya,   kings,    312,    327,    330, 

332-4. 
Baleokouros,  218  n. 
Balliaras — Rashtrakuta  kings,  430. 
Bali  in  Mfinvar,  390  n. 
Balkh,  secondary  Hun  capital,  317. 
BallAl  Sen,    king   of  Bengal,  403, 

407,  415,  418,  419. 
Bamian,  town,  49  n. 
Bamyin,  Hun  head-quarters,  317. 
Bana,  author,  18,  21, 198  n.,  204  «., 

335,  343,  380. 
Bandhupalita  =  Sangata    Maurya, 

197. 
Bankipore,  on  site  of  Pataliputra, 

121,  158,  294. 
Bannu,  town,  392. 
Banskhera,     inscription,     336    «., 

343  n.,  359. 
Banyan  hospital,  183. 
Bar  =  waterless  uplands,  95. 
Barabnr  caves,  105,  169,  196,  197. 
Baramulu  Pass,  260  m.,  268. 
Barbarikon,  port  on  Indus,  231. 
Bardanes,  Parthian  king,  230  n. 
Bargaon  =  Nalanda,  q.v.,  312. 
Barhut  (Bharhut),  relief  sculpture 
at,  34  n.  :  Sunga    inscription  at, 
198  n. 
Barl,  later  Parihar  capital,  377.  383. 
Bark,  as  writing  material,  28  >i., 

136. 
Barygaza  =  Broach  (BharOch),  218. 
Basar  =  Vais-ali,    q.v.,    29   n. :   seals 

from,  281  n. 
Basava,  founded  Lingayat  sect,  433. 
Bathindah,  382. 
Battle  of  Hydaspes,  68-71. 


INDEX 


483 


Battle-axp,   a   PRndya    cognizance,   I 
451.  ■■  I 

Bazira,  a  town  in  the  hills,  56,  57. 

BecarC,  port,  450  n. 

Beghram,  coins  from,  257  n. 

Behistun  inscription,  38  »(. 

Belur  temple,  434. 

Benares  =  Kak,  30:  cotton  fabrics 
of,  129  n.  :  Upagiipta  at,  189: 
captured  by  Muhammadans,  389. 

Bengal,  Chandra-gupta's  alleged 
campaign  in,  290  n.  :  included  in 
Harsha's  dominions,  339  :  dynas- 
ties of,  397-407. 

Berar  =  Vidarbha,  200. 

Beryls,  443. 

Bhabru  edict,  158,  167,  168,  173. 

Bhadrabahu,  146,  440. 

Bhagalpur  District,  29  :  Jain  build- 
ings in,  35  n. :  copperplate,  398  >i. 

Bhagavata,  ^unga  king,  203  : 
Purana,  date  of,  22. 

BhagSla  =  Phegelas,  40. 

BhaglrathI  river,  405. 

Bhandarkar,  R.  G.,  on  early  history 
of  India,  300  n. 

Bhandi,  cousin  of  Harsha,  337. 

Bhanugupta,  Raja,  313. 

Bhar  tribe,  322,  413. 

Bharhut  =  Barhut,  q.  v. 

Bharoch  (Broach)  =  Barygaza,  213: 
Gurjara  kingdom  of,  322,  411. 

Bhasa,  dramatist,  39. 

Bhaskara-varman  =  Kumai-a,  king 
of  Kamarupa,  q.  v.,  356,  369. 

Bhatarka,  founded  Valabhi  dynas- 
ty", 314. 

Bliattiprolu,  inscriptions  from,  16. 

Bhavabhuti,  poet,  378. 

Bhillama,  Yadava  king,  392. 

Bhilsa  town,  199. 

Bhima,    (1)  king  of  Gujarat,  392  : 

(2)  Kaivarta   of  Varendra,  400 : 

(3)  king  of  Mithila,  401. 
Bhimbhar  =Abhisa.ra,  59  n.,  88. 
Bhinmal         (Bhilmal),        Gurjara 

capital,  321,  326,  378,  428. 
Bhira  (Bahrah),  town,  90  n. 
Bhitarl,  pillar  at,  309  :  seal  from, 

281  H.,311n.,  312. 
Bhoja,  (1  and  2)  Parihar  kings  of 

Kanauj,  379,  380;  (3)  Pawar  king 

of  Malwa,  395  :  (4)  tribe,  184. 
Bhojpur,  lake,  396. 
BhotaP,  403. 

Bhrikuti,  Nepalese  princess,  361. 
Bhhmaka,    Kshaharata,    209,   218 

(table). 
Bhuna,  on  Jihlam  river,  83, 


Bhutias,  conquered  by  LaliUditya, 

372. 
Bias  river  =  Ilyphasis,  q.  v.,  75,  92. 

Bililiography    of  Asoka's   inscrip- 
tions, 172. 
Bidaspes    river  =  Hydaspe3,    q.  v., 

78  n. 
Bihar,  South  (1)  province  =  Mapa- 
dha,    q.v.,    29,    397,    400,    402: 
(2)  town,  294,  398. 
Bihat  river  =  Hydaspes,  q.  v.,  78. 
Bijjala,  Kalachurya  king,  432,  433, 

437. 
Bikanir,  State,  92. 
Bikram,  Raja,  303. 
Bikrampur,  town,  403. 
Bilhana,  author,  18,  432. 
Bilsar,  inscriptions  from,  327. 
Bimbisara,  king,  31,  33,  85,  37,  41, 

45,  48. 
Bindusara,  king,  146-9,  196. 
Birch-bark    as    writing    material, 

28  «.,  130. 
Birthday  festival,  124. 
Births  a.id  deaths  registered,  128. 
Bisal  Deo  =  Vigiaha-raja,  q,  v.,  387. 
Bitpfilo,  artist,  402. 
Bittiga,  Iloysala  king,  433. 
Block-printing  in  Tibet,  405. 
Boats,  used  by  Alexander,  60. 
Bodh  Gaya,  Asoka's  monastery  at, 
287  :  desolate  in  Fa-hien's  time, 
299  :  Bodhi  tree  at,  346  :  visited 
by  Wang-hiuen-t'se,  354. 
Bodhi  tree  at  Gaya,  159,  346. 
Bodhidharma,  patriarch,  313. 
Bodhiruchi,  author,  329. 
Bodhisattvas,  hierarchy  of,  266. 
Bodoahpra,  king  of  Burma,  124  Ji. 
Boedromion,     Athenian      month, 

105  n. 
Bolan  route,  102  n. 
Bon,  religion  of  Tibet,  364. 
!   Boukephala,  city,  71. 
;    Bow,   Indian,  60,   125:    the  Cherii 
cognizance,  459. 
Brahma,  a  god,  349. 
Brahmagiri,    Asoka's    inscriptions 
I        at,  167  n.,  172. 
Brahmakshatra,  meaning  of,  408  «., 
419. 
I    Brahman,  opposition  to  Alexander, 
i        101  :  caste,  and  Rajas,  408. 
Brahmanivbad,  en-or  for  Bahmana- 

bad,  q.  v.,  103  n. 
Brahmdnda  Purana,  11,  22,  23. 
Brahmanical  reaction,  194,  202. 
1    Brahmans,  town  of,  96. 
Briihrnl  script,  28  «.,  167. 

I  i  2 


484 


INDEX 


Brick  buildings,  136. 

Brihad-derata,  referred  to,  92  n. 

Brihadratha,  Maurya  king,  195, 
'197,  198. 

Brihatkathd-koda,  443  n. 

Broach  =  Bharocl),  q.  v.,  213. 

Bronze  vessels  from  the  Nllgiris, 
444. 

Buckler,  Indian,  66,  125. 

Buddha  (Gautama),  relics  of,  at 
Piprawa,  16  :  birth  and  life  of, 
29 :  preceded  by  '  former  Bud- 
dhas',  157  :  visited  by Ajata^atru, 
33-35  :  belonged  to  Sakya  clan, 
37  :  death  of,  36,  46-8  :  birth- 
place of,  159  :  area  of  personal 
ministry  of,  188 :  on  coins  of 
Kanishka,  266  :  deified,  266, 
345  :  footprints  of,  346  :  Harsha's 
golden  image  of,  348 :  Hiuen 
Tsang's  relics  of,  352:  Harsha 
seized  tooth  of,  372. 

Buddhism,  I-tsing  on  history  of, 
26  :  origin  of,  29  :  Bhabru  edict 
important  in  history  of,  168 : 
leading  tenet  of  Asoka's,  176-8: 
Holy  Land  of,  187  :  earliest  Bur- 
mese, 187  :  Asoka's  preference 
for,  188 :  persecutions  of,  203  : 
Taranath,  Tibetan  historian  of, 
213,  215,  347  n.  :  Menander 
a  convert  to,  225 :  Hinayana, 
ancient  form  of,  267  :  Mahajana, 
newer  form  of,  266,  269  n.,  301, 

344  :  conversion  of  Kanishka  to, 
265  :  Vikramaditya  tolerant  of, 
298,  303  :  at  Mathura  in  Fa-hien's 
time,  296  :  merciful  teachings  of, 
297  :   gradual  decay  of,  298,  303, 

345  :  prevalence  from  200  b.  c.  to 
A.D.  200  of,  301 :  Sammitlya 
school  of,  339,  345  :  favour  of 
Gupta  kings  to,  292,  303,  313, 
328-34  :  devotion  of  Harsha  to, 
344-51  :  in  Tibet,  364  :  in  Nepal, 
368  :  destruction  in  Bihar  of, 
404  :  decline  in  Deccan  of,  427, 
429  :  in  Bengal,  370,  402  :  in 
Southern  India,  440,  463,  476. 

Buddhist  canon,  11,  29:  Chinese 
pilgrims,  14,  23-6,  354  :  eccle- 
siastical legends,  32  n.,  33-6  : 
instructors  of  Asoka,  157,  159  : 
Holy  Land,  169,  187  :  church 
council  convened  by  Asoka,  161, 
267  :  establishments  in  Nepal, 
162  :  Piili  books,  166  :  monastic 
order,  1.58,  345,  350 :  fame  of 
Asoka,   170;    influence  in  India 


and  abroad,  184.  188  :  church  in 
Ceylon,  186,  189 :  fame  of  Ka- 
nishka, 255  :  monasteries,  263, 
297,  344,  463,  473  :  council  of 
Kanishka,  267  :  rule  of  life,  297  : 
inscriptions,  301:  coins  of  Kanish- 
ka, 266,  302  :  King  Siladitya  a 
devout,  324  :  monks  in  Sind, 
354  :  in  U.jjain,  356  :  Pala  kings 
of  Bengal, '370,  399,  402:  temples 
at  Negapatam,  466  :  Siiiihavar- 
man,  Pallava  king,  a,  476. 

Budhagupta,  Raja,  313. 

Bull,  the  Pallava  cognizance,  477. 

Bundela  clan,  413. 

Bundelkhand  =  Jejakabhukti,  q.  v., 
390. 

Bunfir  country,  54  n. 

Bunhar  Pass,  79  n. 

Burma,  customs  of,  123  n.  :  Bud- 
dhism in,  187  :  English  conquest 
of,  365. 

Burmese  occupied  Assam,  371. 


Caelobothras  =  Kera]ai)utra,  q.  r. 
450  n. 

Caesar,  ?  title  of  Kanishka,  255  n, 

Calicut,  bombardment  of,  199 : 
Zamorins  of,  459. 

Camel,  for  riding,  134  :  Bactrian, 
2.36. 

Candragomin  (Chandragomin\ 
author,  321  n. 

Canton,  'dotted  record'  of,  47  n. 

Capital  punishment,  see  Death, 
penalty  of. 

Caracalla,  Roman  emperor,  278 : 
massacre  at  Alexandria  by, 
445  n.,  452. 

Carnatic,  the,  470. 

Caste,  in  Gupta  period,  297 :  in 
South,  441. 

Castes,  as  described  by  Megas- 
thenes,  134  n.,  439:  four  vartias 
of,  408  n. 

Catty,  Chinese  weight,  264  n. 

Caucasus,  Indian,  120. 

Cauvery  river  =  Kaviri,  q.  r.,  444. 

Ceded  Districts,  463. 

Central  Provinces  =  Chedi,  890. 

Ceylon,  chronicles  of,  11,  171  :  pre- 
Christian  records  in,  16  n.  :  con- 
version of,  186:  Meghavarna  king 
of,  287:  pilgrims  from",  288: 
frescoes  in,  306  :  Pandya  wars 
with,  455  :  Gajabahu,  king  of, 
452  :  invaded  by  Karikala  Clio|a, 
461 :    invaded    by   Parantaka    I, 


INDEX 


485 


464  :  annexed  by  Rajara.ja,  4155  : 
Pallava  relations  witli,  472,  473. 

Chakrayudha,  king  of  Kanauj,  378, 
398. 

Chakshu  river=Oxus,  2(54  n. 

Clialukya  dynasties,  340,  424-32  : 
wars  with  Cholas,  4G5,  467  :  wars 
with  Pallavas,'425,  427. 

Chanibal  riv.  r,  286, 

Champaran  District,  159,  170  n., 
401. 

Chanakya,  minister,  41  ?;.,  42,  118, 
122  n.,  123  n.,  135  n.,  136,  408. 

Chandala,  outcaste  tribes,  297. 

Chandawar,  battle  of,  389  /(. 

Chand  Bardai,  Hindi  poet,  387  n. 

Chandel  clan,  322,  407,  413,  414: 
history,  390-4, 

Chandra,  Turushka  king,  421. 

Chandrabhaga  river,  59  n. 

Chandradeva,  founded  Gaharwar 
dynasty  of  Kanauj,  385. 

Chandragiri  river,  438,  447. 

Chandragupta,  (1)  Maurya^ 
Sandrakottos,  19  :  early  life  of, 
42-4,  46,  48,  117  :  worshipped  at 
Alexander's  altars,  77  :  defeated 
Seleukos,  119,  148,  196:  institu- 
tions of,  120-46,  237  :  length  of 
reign  of,  144  :  Jain  legends  of, 
146,  440  :  Andhra  kingdom  in 
time  of,  206  :  caste  of,  408  :  (2) 
I  of  Gupta  dynasty,  279-81,327, 
331-4  :  (3)  II  of  Gupta  dynasty, 
Vikramaditya,  14,  20  :  history  of, 
290-9  :  seals  of  queen  of,  282  n.: 
original  of  Raja  Bikram,  303  : 
contemporary  with  Kalidasa, 
304  :  clironology,  coins,  and  in- 
scriptions of,  327. 

Chand-RCdsa,  Hindi  epic,  387  «., 
393. 

Chandra,  Turushka  king,  421. 

Chandrapida,  king  of  Kashmir, 
363,  372." 

Chandrapraka^a,  prince,  330-4. 

Chandra  Sri,  Andhra  king,  212. 

Chandra-varman,  king,  290  n. 

ChandravatI,  Pa  wars  at,  395,  412. 

Ch'ang-an,  in  China,  352  n. 

Chang-kicn,  embassy  of,  252,  277. 

Chapa  clan,  424. 

Chariot,  Indian,  125,  126,  146  : 
disuse  of,  339. 

Charsadda  =  Peukelaotis,  57. 

CharumatI,  daughter  of  Asoka, 
162,  197, 

Chashtana,  satrap,  210,  211,  291. 

Chauhan     dynasty     of    Sambhar,  , 


386  :  Rajas  of  Malwa,  396  :  clan, 
412,  414. 

Chaulukya  clan  =  Solankl,  q.  v., 
412. 

Chavanncs,  Prof.,  on  Western 
Turks,  363  n. 

Chayil,  ruined  church  at,  245. 

Chedi,  kingdom  =  Central  Pro- 
vinces, 394  :  era  of,  394. 

Clieh-ka,  kingdom  =Tseh-kia,  354. 

Chellanfi,  mother  of  Ajatasatru, 
36  n. 

Che-mong,  Chinese  pilgrim,  25  n. 

Chen-kuttuvan,  Chera  king,  452, 
458,  462. 

Chera  kingdom  =  Keraja,  q.  v.,  456. 

Cheralam  =  Kerala,  q.  v.,  447  n. 

Chhatarpur  State,  391,  414. 

Chilappathikuram,  poem,  205  n. 

China,  Kuslian  relations  with,  253, 
262:  Gupta  relations  with,  306  : 
mission  in  a.  d.  539  from,  313: 
conterminous  with  Hun  empire, 
317  :  intercourse  of  Harsha  with, 
352:  ?Arjuna  brought  as  pri- 
soner to,  353  :  Nestorianism  in, 
359  :  relations  of  Northern  India 
with,  360-5,  363 :  relations  of 
Nepal  with,  365, 

Chinab  (Chenab\  river,  59,  60  h., 
73,  79  n.,  81,  88,  92,  94,  98,  114. 

Chinabhukti,  town,  263. 

Chinese  historians,  13,  335  :  pil- 
grims, 14,  23  :  liostiiges  supposed 
to  be,  263. 

CliingU'put,  district,  472. 

ChiniOt,  fortress,  316  n. 

Chionitai  nation,  274  n. 

Chi-pin  =  Ki-pin,  q.  v.,  251  n. 

Chitaldarg,  in  Mysore,  460. 

Chitavara  country,  348  n. 

ChitOr,  town,  199. 

Chitral  river,  51. 

Chola  dynasty  and  kingdom,  425, 
429,  431,  434,  446,  450,  454,  459, 
460-9,  475. 

Chola-Pandya,  viceroy,  467. 

Chcraganga,  king  of  Orissa,  42  n., 
402. 

Chorasmioi,  in  sixteenth  satrapy, 
221. 

Chremes,  Athenian  archon,  85-7. 

Christian  mission  to  Indo- 
Parthians,  231-5 :  elements  in 
Buddhism,  266. 

Christians  of  St.  Thomas,  235, 
245. 

Chronology,  diflSculties  of  Indian, 
1,  18-20,  44. 


486 


INDEX 


Cliu-Ii-va  =  Cliola  kingdom,  q.  v., 
462.  ■ 

Cinnaniomuni,  sp.,  445  n. 

Cipher  writing,  140. 

Civil  administration  of  Harslia,  341. 

Claudius,  Roman  emperor,  277. 

Cleophis,  see  Kleophis. 

Coast,  changes  in,  104  n.,  108  n. 

Cochin,  state,  438,  447,  457. 

Coimbatore,  beryls  of,  443 : 
district,    443,  447,  457,  459. 

Coinage,  debasement  and  restora- 
tion of  Gupta,  311. 

Coins,  many  classes  of,  17  :  punch- 
marked,  02  n.  :  Mitra,  204  n.  : 
Andhra,  205,  210,  212:  of 
Menander,  &c.,  213,  215:  Indo- 
I'arthian,  228  :  of  Hermaios  and 
Kadphises  1,236:  Greek  influence 
on,  240  :  of  Plato,  243:  of  'Name- 
less King ',  252  :  of  Kadphises  II 
and  Kanishka,  257  :  of  Huvishka, 
271  :  of  Vasudeva,  272  :  of  later 
Kushans,  274:  of  Chandraguptal, 
280  :  of  Samudragupta,  288  :  of 
Chandragupta  II,  Vikramaditj'a, 
293,  327  :  of  Skandagupta,  311, 
327  :  of  Prakai^aditya,  311 :  of  the 
Maukhari  dynasty,  312  n.  :  of 
Kumaragupta  I,  327 :  of  Nepal, 
368  n.  :  of  Mihira  Bhoja,  380  : 
of  Gangtiyadeva  and  the  Chan- 
dels,  392  :  Roman  in  S.  India, 
443,  444  :  Pandya,  451  :  Chera, 
459  :  Chola,  465  w. 

Colair,  lake,"  284. 

Commodus,  Roman  emperor,  278. 

Comorin,  Cape,  446,  456. 

Conjeeveram  =  KanchI,  q.  v. 

Constantino  comjiared  with  Asoka, 
189. 

Consuls,  officials  resembling,  127  »., 
238  n. 

Coorg,  province,  446,  460. 

Copper,  inscriptions  on,  16,  449 : 
vessels,  122. 

Corinthian  capitals,  267. 

Coromandel  const,  440,  447  :  cor- 
ruption of  Cholamandalam,  460  n. 

Corundum,  443. 

Cosmas  Indicoploustes,  author,  317. 

Cotton,  substitute  for  linen,  97  n.  : 
fabrics  of  Benares,  129  n.  :  as 
writing-material,  136 :  trade, 
461. 

Cottonara  =  Kuddam,  tlie  pepper 
coast,  457. 

Coun -il,  Bud.Hjist,  of  Asoka,  161  : 
of  Kanishka,  267,  278. 


Court  of  Chandragupta  Maurya, 
122,  145. 

Courtesans  as  informers,  130,  139. 

Cowrie  shells  as  currency,  297. 

Cranganorc=  Muziris,  444,  457. 

Crassus,  standards  of,  236. 

Cromwell,  quoted,  179. 

Cuddapah,  district,  447,  463. 

Cured ■=  Rural,  q.  v.,  445  n, 

Cur.ency,  see  Coinage,  Coins, 
Cowrie. 

Curtius  on  India,  13. 

Cutch,  Kan  (Runn)  of,  104  n.  :  de- 
pendent on  Mo-la-p'o,  324. 

Cuttack  (Katak),  District,  109  n. 

Cyrene,  Asoka's  mission  to,  184. 

Cyrus,  legend  of,  105. 

Dahala=W.  Chedi,  390. 

Daisies,  Macedonian  month,  259  n, 

Dakshamitra,    daughter  of    Naha- 

pana,  218  (table). 
Damirike  =  Tamiiakam,  439. 
Damyek  =  Dhamiak,  389  n. 
Dantidurga,  Rasiitrakuta  king,  427, 

437. 
Dantiga,  Raja  of  Kanchi,  437. 
Darapur,  below  Jihlam,  83  n. 
Darbhanga,  district,  401. 
Darius,  inscriptions   of,   12,  38  «. : 

Indian  conquests  of,  37  :   Sakas 

in  time  of,  249  n. 
Dar^aka  king,  39,  45,  48. 
Darvabhisara,  country,  59  n. 
Da^aratha,  grandson  of  Asoka,  174, 

192,  193,  197.  ^;      , 

Dassavarman   (Devavarman),  Maa-'      J 

rya  king,  197.  f 

Daulatabad  =  Devagiri,  434. 
Davaka,  kingdom,  285. 
Dead,  exposure  of,  154. 
Death,  penalty  of,  123, 127, 128, 130, 

143,  170,  177,  181,344. 
Deaths  and  births,  registration  of, 

128,  143. 
Debal,  in  Sind,  103.     " 
Deccan,  meaning   of,  0,  7,  9,  423 : 

Maurya  conquest  of,  148  :  censors 

in,  182  :  Pulakesin,  king  of,  340. 
Deima  jhos,  Greek  ambassador,  147, 

190. 
Delhi,  iron  pillar  of,  290  n.,  386: 

history  of,  334  «.,  386-9,  410. 
Delta  of" Indus,  102,  103. 
Demotrios,    king    of    the    Indians, 

223,  224,  239,  241,  242. 
Lenarius,  silver,  254  n.  , 

Devabhuti     (Devabhiimi),     feunga 

king,  203,  204. 


INDEX 


487 


Devadutta,  cousin  of  Buddha,  32, 

33. 
Devagiri,  Yadava  kings  of,  392, 
Devaki,  309. 

JDevdnampiya,  meaning  of,  177  n. 
Devanampiya  Tissa,  king,  186. 
Devapala(i)  Kshattriya,  1(52:    (2) 

king  of  Bengal,  399,  401. 
Devapatana,  in  Nepal,  162. 
Devaiashtra  =  Mahratta     country, 

284. 
Devil  (demon)  worship,  440. 
Dhamiak,     in     Jheluni     District, 

389  «. 
Dhamma  (dhanna),  meaning  of,  175. 
Dhana  Nanda,  king,  41. 
Dhanamjaya,  autlior,  395. 
Dhaiiga,  Chandel  king,  391. 
Dhanika,  author,  395. 
Dhara,  capital  of  Blioja,  395. 
J»/jarana,  coin,  141. 
Dharmaditya,  king,  332  n. 
Dharmapala,    (1)   king  of  Bengal, 

358,  378,  398 :    (2)  Buddhist  tea- 
cher, 400. 
Dharmaraksha,    Buddhist   author, 

329. 
Bharmsdld,  rest-houses,  344. 
Dharmasdstras,  144. 
Dhauli,    Asoka's    inscriptions    at, 

168  n. 
Dhiman,  artist,  402. 
Dhoyi  (Dhoylka),  poet,  406. 
Dhruva,    Rashtrakuta    king,    428, 

437,  475. 
Dhruvabhata.     king    of    Valabhi, 

324. 
Dhruva  Devi,  queen  of  Vikrama- 

ditya,  299. 
Dialogues  of  the  Buddha,  cited,  408. 
Didda,  queen  of  Kashmir,  375. 
Diijarabara,  Jain   sect,   46  n.,  429, 

453. 
Dinapore,  cantonment,  121. 
Dinnaga.  author,  329. 
Diodotos  I  and  II,  Bactrian  kings, 

220,  222,  242. 
Diomedes,  Indo-Greek  king,  242. 
Dionysios,  (1)  Greek  ambassador, 

147  :  (2;  Indo-Greek  king,  242. 
Dionysos  in  India,  52. 
Bipavamda,  chronicle,  11,  171. 
Divya  (Divyoka),  Kaivarta,  400. 
Divyasuricharita,  468  n. 
Divydvaddna,  legends,  192,  202   n., 

215. 
Domitian,  Roman  emperor,  278. 
Dorasamudra,  Hoysala  capital,  432, 

433. 


D5sh-i-ab,  '  meeting  of  the  waters,' 
98. 

'  Dotted  record  '  of  Canton,  47  ii. 

Drama,  Sanskrit,  240  n.  :  Tamil, 
445. 

Drangiana  =  Si3tai),  102,  116, 

Dravida  country,  25,  413  n.,  445. 

Dravidian  nations,  7,  8,  28,  185  : 
meaning  of  term,  413. 

Drona,  legendary  chief,  377. 

Drummers,  of  Harsha,  341. 

Drupada,  legendary  chief,  377. 

Dufl',  Chronology  of  India,  406  rt. 

Durdurkar  inscription,  220  n. 

Durga,  goddess,  439. 

Durlabhaka,  king  of  Kashmir,  372. 

Durlabhavardhana,  king  of  Kash- 
mir, 372. 

Duty,  law  of,  see  Piety. 

Dyrta,  town,  59. 

East  and  West,  2,  239. 

Edessa,  memorial  church  of  St, 
Thomas  at,  233  n. 

Edicts  of  Asoka,  15,  132,  140,  158- 
61,  166-70,  172-4. 

Education  in  time  of  Harsha,  342. 

Egypt,  embassy  to  India  from,  12, 
147  :  irrigation  in,  133  :  Asoka's 
mission  to,  184 :  European  com- 
merce through,  291  :  trade  with 
S.  India,  461 :  see  Alexandria. 

Egyptian  civilization,  2  :  crews,  89. 

Elagabalus,  Roman  emperor,  278, 

Elapura  =  Elura,  q.  v.,  428  n. 

Elephant,  failure  in  war  of  the, 
112:  used  by  Seleukidan  kings, 
115,  119,  146:  combats,  122:  for 
riding,  134  :  cognizance  of  Pan- 
dya  dynasty,  451. 

Elliot,  Sir  H.  M.,  History  of  India  by, 
15  n.:  Sir  W.,  Coins  of  Southern 
India  by,  15  n. 

Elphinstone  on  Indian  histoi'y  and 
chronology,  1,  6,  18. 

Elura  (Ellora),  rock-cut  temples  at, 
428,  430. 

Embolima,  town,  57. 

Empire  of  Asoka,  6,  61-4  :  Ephtha- 
iite,  315 :  Persian,  12, 145 :  Gupta, 
286  ;  ..f  Harsha,  341 :  of  China, 
362. 

Epander,  Indo-Greek  king,  242. 

Ephoroi  =  nesv!i-\vritevs,  130. 

Ephthalite  empire,  317. 

Epics,  Sanskrit,  10  :  rude  popular, 
387:  Tamil,  453. 

Epigraphia  Carnatica,  17  n.,  449. 

Epigraphic  evidence,  9,  15, 


488 


INDEX 


Epirus,  Asoka's  mission  to,  184. 

Eplskopoi  =  news-writers.  130. 

Era,  Anaiida  Vikrama,  387  n.  : 
Arsakidan,  221  n. :  of  Chedi,  394  : 
Gupta,  20:  ofHarsha,338:  Hun, 
316  n.  :  Kaliyuga,  27  n.  :  KoUam, 
or  Malabar,  459  n.  :  of  Laksh- 
mana-sena,  416  :  Laukika,  251  n. : 
Lichchhavi,  279:  MalaWar,  or 
Kollam,  459  n.  :  Nepalese,  367  : 
Pontic,  259  7i.  :  Saiianda  Vik- 
rama, 387  n. :  Seleukidan,  196, 
243  »t.  :  Traikfitaka,  394  :  of 
Vikranianka  Chalukya,  432  :  of 
Yudhi^litliira,  27  n. 

Erandapalla  =Khandesh,  284. 

Eras,  numerous  Indian,  19. 

Eratosthenes,  stadiinn  of,  135  n. 

Er^-mandrus,  river,  226. 

EudOmos  in  India,  110,  115-7. 

Eukratides,  Indo-Greek  king,  223- 
5,  227,  239,  242. 

Euphrates,  voyage  of  Nearehos  to, 
109 :  Roman  conquests  beyond, 
259. 

Euthydemos  I,  II,  Indo-Bactrian 
kings,  222,  223,  242. 

Fahien,  first  Chinese  pilgrim,  13, 
164  :  translations  of  Travels  of, 
23  :  described  Fatal iputra  and 
Magadha,  294-7  :  on  Gupta  go- 
vernment, 20,  297 :  studied  at 
Tamralipti,  298  :  found  Kapila- 
vastu,  &c.,  desolate,  299. 

Famine,  in  Kashmir,  374. 

Fa-yong.  Chinese  pilgrim,  25  n. 

Female  guards,  123  ;  morals  super- 
vised by  Asoka,  181  :  seclusion, 
347  :  potentate  in  south,  451. 

Fire-]Ht  legend,  412. 

Firoz,  Persian  king,  316. 

Fish,  a  Pandya  cognizance,  451. 

Fleet,  Dr.  J.  F.,  discovered  initial 
point  of  Gupta  era,  20. 

Fleets,  of  Alexander,  89,  99  :  of 
Nearehos,  106-9:  of  the  Cholas 
and  Cheras,  461,  465. 

Fo-kwo-ki,  of  Fa-hien,  23. 

Foreigners,  Maurya  officials  in 
charge  of,  127. 

Franke,  Dr.  0.,  on  Kushan  period, 
258  n. 

Franke,  Prof.  0.,  on  Pali  and 
Sanskrit,  303  n. 

Cad,  legendary  brother  of  Gondo- 

j.liarGs,  232. 
Gadur,  tribe,  ?  =  God rosioi,  107  n. 


Gaharwar  clan  and  dynasty,  377, 

384-6,  389,  413,  414. 
Gajabahu,   early   king   of  Ceylon, 

452,  458,  462. 
Galba,  Roman  emperor,  277. 
Ganapati  Na-^a,  Raja,  283. 
Ganda,  Chandel  R^ja,  383,  392. 
Gandak,  river,  159  n. 
Gandaria  =  Gandhara,  q.  v.,  38. 
Gandaris,  in  Panjab,  73. 
Gandhara,    countrj',    defined,    28, 

38  >i.,  62  n.  :  topography  of,  50  n., 

261  n. :    tribe,    184 :    sculptures 

of,  241,  266  :    Hun  conquest   of, 

310:  kingdom,  398. 
Gafiga     dynasties.     Eastern     and 

Western,  468,  475. 
Gatigaikonda,     title     of    Rajendra 

Choladeva  I,  466,  468. 
Gangaikonda  -  Cholapuram,     city, 

466. 
Gaiiga-Pallava,  king  Aparajita,  454. 
Gaiigaraja,  Jain  minister,  433. 
Gangaridae  nation,  40,  43. 
Gai>gavadi  =  Mysore,  475. 
Ganges,  river,  28,  36,  39  n.,  40,  117, 

121,  162,  280,  294,  348,  466,  475. 
Gangetic  plain,  6,  198,  295,  345. 
Gangeyadeva,  king  of  Chedi,  392. 
Ganjam,  inscription  from,  339  n., 

359:    attacked   by  Harsha,  344, 

359  :  District,  438. 
Gardabhila  tribe,  274. 
Gargi  Samhitd,  cited,  214. 
Garhwa,  inscription  from,  327. 
Garlic  forbidden,  297. 
Garrisons,  four,  in  Kashgaria,  360, 

362. 
Gatchien      Kunasana,      kingdom, 

269  n. 
Gauda,  kingdom,  337  n. 
Qaugamela,  battle  of,  228  n. 
Gauhati,  in  Assam,  370. 
Gaur  -=  Lakhnautl.  421  n. 
Gautama     Buddha,     see     Buddha 

(G.iutama). 
Gautamlputra,  metronymic  of  two 

And  bra  kings,  209-11,  216,  217, 

and  218  (table). 
Gayu,  sanctity  of,  30:  desolate  in 

A.  D.  400,  299. 
Gedrosia  =  Makran,      105 :      con- 

nectod    with    India.     105,    107: 

Alexander's  march  through,  109, 

111,  114  :  included  in  cession  to 

Cbandragupta       Maurya,       119, 

149-51. 
Gedrosioi,  people,  107. 
Ghatotkacha,  king,  280,  281  n. 


INDEX 


489 


Ghaznl  =  Zabulistan,  363  :  city, 
382-4,  392. 

Gidhaur,  Chandel  Eaja  of,  394. 

Giriiar,  lake  and  inscriptions  at, 
132,  133r!.,16S  n.,  211  u.,  309. 

Gltagovinda  poem,  40G. 

Gladiatorial  contests,  122. 

Glausai  (Glaukanikoi),  nation,  73, 
89. 

Gnostic  heresv  and  Buddhism,  188, 
266. 

Gobi,  desert  of,  248. 

Godagari,  mart,  421  n. 

Godavarl,  river,  156,  162,  395,  423, 
425,  431. 

Goethe  on  the  duty  of  an  historian, 
3,6. 

GoUas,  Hun  king,  317. 

Gomitra,  Raja  of  Mathurft,  227  n. 

Gond  tribe,  391,  413-5. 

Gondophares,  Indo-Parthian  king. 
209,  231-5. 

Gopaditya,  king  of  Kashmir,  297  n. 

Gopiila,  founded  Pala  dynasty,  397. 

Gopalpur,  stupa  at,  267  n. 

Gospels,  Buddliist  and  Christian, 
188  n. 

Gothakabhaya,  king  of  Ceylon,  246. 

Goths  oppressed  by  Huns,  315. 

Gouraios,  river,  54. 

Gover,  Folk-Songs  of  Southern  India, 
445  n. 

Govinda  II,  III,  IV,  Rashtrakuta 
kings,  379,  428,  429,  475.  ' 

Govindachandra,  Raja  of  Kanauj, 
385. 

Govindapala,  of  Pala  dynasty,  401. 

Graeco-Roman  influence  on  India, 
241,  266. 

Grahavarman,  king,  337. 

Greece,  history  of,  5. 

Greek  influence  on  India,  145, 
237-41. 

Grote  on  Aornos  and  battle  of 
Hydaspcs,  84,  86. 

Grumbates,  Kushan  king,  274. 

Guards,  female,  123. 

Gu^rinot,  Bibliographie  Jaina,  10  n. 

Guhilot  clan,  420. 

Gujar  =  Gurjara,  q.  v.,  322,  411. 

Gujarat,  (1)  a  district  in  the  Pan- 
jab,  60,  336:  (2)  Western,  his- 
tories of,  15  n. :  Kumarapfila,  king 
of,  181  :  attacked  by  Prabhakara- 
vardhana,  336  n.  :  Bhlma,  king 
of,  392 :  comprised  Lata  and 
Gurjara,  425  :  Chalukya  dynasty 
of,  427  :  Rashtrakuta  principality 
of,  428. 


Gujranwala  District,  836. 

Gunabhadra,  Jain  leader,  429, 

Gunamati,  Buddhist  teacher,  314, 
329. 

Gupta,  (1)  father  of  Upagupta,  189, 
280  n. :  (2)  ancestor  of  Gupta 
dynasty,  280  n. 

Gupta  empire,  Puranic  notices  of, 
20 :  history  and  chronology  of, 
279-331 :  era  determined,  20,  280, 
327 :  inscriptions,  list  of,  327 : 
(later)  dynasty  of  Magadha,  312, 
327  :  period,  Sanskrit  revival  in, 
302. 

Gurdiispur,  District,  75  «.,  81. 

Gurgan  (Gorgo),  not  the  Ephtha- 
lite  capital,  317  n. 

Gurjara  country  =  Northern  Gu- 
jarat and  Rajputana,  425. 

Gurjara  clans,  321,  336,  411,  430. 

Gurjara  -  Pratihara,  kingdom  of 
Kanauj,  321,  378-84. 

Giirkhas,  conquest  of  Nepal  by,  367. 

Gushtasib,  of  Persia,  103  n. 

Gwalior,  dependent  on  Kanauj, 
379 :  captured  by  Vajradaman, 
381  :  captured  by  Muhamma- 
dans,  389. 

Habban,  legendary  merchant,  232. 

Hadrian,  Roman  emperor,  259, 
278. 

Hagamasha  and  Hagana,  satraps 
of  Mathura,  218,  227  n, 

Hailiaya  Rajas,  394  :  clan,  414. 

Hair-shaving,  penalty  of,  130. 

Hair-washing,  ceremony  of,  124. 

Hakra  =  Waliindah,  extinct  river, 
92'  98,  355,  379,  430. 

Hala,  Andhra  king,  208. 

Hala  mountains,  109. 

Halebid  =  DOrasamudra,  433. 

Han  dynasty  of  China,  251  n.,  253, 
254  n.,  263. 

Harakali-ndtaka ,  drama,  387. 

Harapala,  last  Yadava  king,  435. 

Harbours,  on  rivers,  129  »j. 

Hari-iaja,  Chauhan,  388  »«. 

Harishena,  author  of  inscription, 
282,  331. 

Harivarniau,  Buddhist  author,  329. 

Harmozeia  =  Ormuz,  108. 

Harpalos,  satrap  of  Babylon,  88. 

Harsha,  (1)  or  Harsha-vardhana, 
of  ThanC'sar,  younger  son  of 
Prabhakaravardhana,  18,  336: 
accession  of,  337 :  coronation  of, 
338  :  wars  of,  339,  314,  359  :  em- 
pire and  administration  of,  341  : 


490 


INDEX 


literary  works  ascribed  to,  343  : 
era  of,  338,  347  n.  :  imitated 
Asoka,  177,  34i  :  eclectic  religion 
of,  266,  345  :  religious  assemblies 
held  by,  348  :  death  of,  352,  359  : 
chronology  of  reign  of,  359 : 
(2)  king  of  Marwar,  348  n. : 
(8)  king  of  Kashmir,  375:  (4) 
ChandOl  king,  391. 

Harsha-Charita  of  Bana,  18,  21,  343. 

Harshapura,  in  Mewar,  348  n. 

Hasan  Abdal,  town,  61,  155. 

llasti,  cliieftain,  50. 

Hasti-varman,  Raja  of  Vengi,  471, 
476  71. 

Hathlgumpha,  cave  -  inscription, 
207  n. 

'  Hatthi-lar'  Pass,  57  n. 

Hayobans  Rajptits,  394. 

Ilazabbar-ud-din  Hasan  Arnal, 
governor,  394. 

Hazara  district  =  Ura^a,  59  n.,  88, 
168  n. 

Hegemon,  Athenian  archon,  85-7. 

Heliodoros,  in  Besnagar  inscrip- 
tion, 240  //. 

Heliokles,  Bactrian  kings,  224-7, 
242. 

Helios,  on  Kanishka's  coins,  265. 

Hellenic,  see  Greek. 

Hellenistic  kings,  intercourse  with 
India  of,  184. 

Helmund  river,  see  Hlhnand. 

Hemachandra,  Jain  monk,  181  n. 

Hemadri  (Hemadpant),  Sanskrit 
author,  435. 

Hemantasena,  403,  415. 

Hephaistion,  general,  50,  59,  74, 
88-90,  102,  103,  113. 

Herakles,  legend  of,  49,  56 :  on 
Kushan  coins,  271 :  in  the  South, 
451. 

Herat  (Hiiat),  city  and  territory, 
38,  120,  149,  151,  221. 

Hermaios,  the  last  Indo-Greek 
king,  236,  240,  242. 

Herodotus,  on  India,  10,  12,  38  n. 

Hesidrus,  river,  92  n. 

Hilinand,  river,  226. 

Hinia  Kadphises  =  Kadphisos  II, 
q.  V. 

Himalayan  nations,  184. 

Hinayana,  monastery  at  Kapi^a : 
263  :  doctrine  in  Kashgar,  264  n. : 
monastery  at  Pataliputra,  295 : 
primitive  doctrine,  345. 

Hindu  period,  1  :  mode  of  thought, 
445  n.  :  reaction  in  Gui^ta  age, 
303. 


Hinduism,  Buddhism  a  sect  of, 
188:  orthodo.x,  301,  303:  in 
Nepal,  368:  in  Bengal,  370:  at 
Kanauj,  376 :  in  the  South, 
440. 

Hindi!  Kush,  mountains,  28,  49, 
119  :  frontier  of  Maurya  empire, 
161,  163,  222. 

Hindustan  =  Gangetic  plain,  283  : 
Muhammadan  conquest  of,  389. 

Hingol,  river,  107  n. 

Hippokoura,  ?  =  Nasik,  218  n. 

Hippolytus,  folk-lore  tale  of,  191. 

Hippostratos,  Indo-Greek  king,  242. 

HiranyavatI,  river,  159  n. 

Historian,  duty  of,  3. 

History  of  the  South,  448.  Sec 
Indian  history. 

Hiuen  Tsang,  Chinese  pilgrim,  14, 
20:  Travels  and  Life  of,  24,  25, 
335  :  on  Buddhist  sects,  346 : 
favoured  by  Harsha,  347 :  at 
Kanauj  and  Prayaga,  348-51 : 
return  to  China  and  death  of, 
351,  359 :  on  political  arrange- 
ments of  India,  354 :  in  Kama- 
rupn,  369:  at  KanchI,  453,  462. 

Hiuen  Tsung,  emperor  of  China, 
363. 

Hiung-nii,  horde,  248,  250. 

Honours,  sale  of,  142. 

Hormazd  II,  king  of  Persia,  274. 

Horse-sacrifice  of  Pushyamitra, 
200-2,  288:  of  Samudragupta, 
288 :  of  Kumaragupta  I,  299 :  of 
Adityasena,  313. 

Hoshyarpur,  district,  76. 

Hospitals  for  animals,  183 :  at 
Pataliputra,  296. 

Hostages,  of  Kanishka,  263. 

Ho-ti,  Chinese  empei'or,  254  n. 

Hoti  Mardan,  town,  60  n. 

Houpian,  town,  49  n. 

Hoysala  dynasty,  433. 

Hsiao  Yen,  emperor  of  China,  160, 
313. 

Humayun,  Moghul,  used  Khaibar 
Pass,  50  n. 

Huna  —  Huns,  the,  g.  v. 

Huns,  the,  first  invasion  of  India 
])}',  310,  316:  second  invasion  of 
India  by,  316  :  Valabhi  tributary 
to,  316 :  two  main  streams  of, 
315:  Toramana  leader  of,  316: 
Asiatic  empire  of,  315:  era  of, 
316  n.  :  characteristics  of,  318 : 
extinction  of,  320 :  extensive 
ravages  of,  317,  318:  effects  of 
invasions  of,  410. 


INDEX 


491 


Hunt,  at  the  Maurya  court,  128, 
177. 

Huslika  =  Huvibhkii,  q.  v.,  270  n. 

Hushkapuia,  town,  271. 

Huvishkii,  history  of,  270-2,  278. 

Hwa,  Cliinese  emperor,  254  n. 

Hwau-ti,  emperor  of  China,  254  n. 

Hwei-Sang,  Chinese  pilgrim,  25. 

Hwui-li,  biographer  of  Iliuen 
Tsang,  14,  835. 

Hydaspes,  river  =  Jihiam,  59,  63  : 
difficulties  of  crossing,  ()4  :  battle 
of,  68:  Boukephala,  on,  71  :  also 
called  Vitasta  or  Bihat,  78: 
possible  crossing-phices  on,  79 : 
also  called  Bidaspes,  Vidasta, 
Vyath,  andWihat,  78 /t.  :  capital 
of  Sophytes  on,  90  :  Alexander's 
route  to  and  from,  79,  82  :  date 
of  battle  of,  85-7 :  Alexander's 
return  to,  88  :  western  boundary 
of  territory  of  Poros,  89  :  con- 
fluence with  AkesinGs  of,  91,  92, 
98 :  changes  in  course  of,  92, 
93  n.  :  date  of  ai'rival  at,  J 13. 

Hyderabad,  (1)  in  Sind,  103  n.  : 
(2)  in  Deccan,423. 

Hydraotes,  river  =  Ravi,  western 
boundary  of  the  Kathaioi,  74  : 
changes  in  course  of,  92,  93  n.  : 
confluence  with  Akesines  of,  94, 
97 :  Malloi  occupied  valley  of, 
94 :  Alexander  carried  to,  97 : 
date  of  passage  of,  114. 

Hypanis,  river,  =  Hyphasis,  q.  v., 
92  n. 

Hyphasis,  river,  Alexander  stopped 
at,  40,  76  =  Bias,  75:  altars  on, 
76-8:  route  from  Taxila  to,  79: 
changes  in  course  of,  92,  93  n.  : 
Oxydrakai  on  banks  of,  94  :  joined 
third  confluence,  98 :  eS"ects  of 
mutiny  at,  111  :  date  of  Alex- 
ander's arrival  at,  114;  Menander 
crossed,  213. 

Hyrkania,  province,  221,  222  n. 

Ichthyophagoi,  savages,  107. 

Hi,  river,  248. 

Ilion,    Alexander's    sacred    shield 

_  from,  97. 

iltutmish  (Altamsh),  took  Kanauj, 
389  n. 

India,  lost  history  of,  1 :  connexion 
with  West  of,  2  :  story  of  ancient, 
3 :  unity  of,  5  :  paramount 
power  in,  6 :  earliest  foreign 
notice  of,  12 :  Greek  and  Chinese 
accounts   of,    12-14 :    AlbSruni's 


inquiry  into,  14  :  Marco  Polo  in, 
15  :  Miihammadan  historians  of, 
15:  inscriptions  in  Southern,  16, 
449  :  coins  of,  17  :  chronology'  of, 
18-20:  beginning  of  political 
history  of,  27  :  ancient  states  of 
Northern,  28 :  capital  of,  36 : 
Indus  boundary  of,  38 :  in  Per- 
sian inscriptions,  38 ». :  Chandra- 
gupta  master  of,  42  :  Alexander's 
plans  for  conquest  of,  49 :  road 
from  Kabul  to,  50 :  Alexander 
the  first  European  to  enter,  56 : 
futility  of  political  combinations 
in,  94:  slavery  in,  100:  con- 
nexion of  Gedrosia  with,  105, 
151  :  duration  of  Alexander's 
stay  in.  111,  114,  238:  not  Hel- 
lenized  by  Alexander,  112,  145, 
238 :  Megasthenes's  account  of, 
120,  238:  land  revenue  in,  141: 
irrigation  in,  131  :  high  degree 
of  early  civilization  in,  135 : 
nearly  all  included  in  xisoka's 
empire,  163 :  Asoka  made  Bud- 
dhism dominant  in,  188:  Euro- 
pean invasions  of,  239  :  religious 
persecution  in,  203  :  vague  mean- 
ing of  name  in  ancient  times, 
231 :  alleged  mission  of  St. 
Thomas  to,  231-5,  245-7 :  no 
Greek  architecture  in,  240  :  com- 
merce between  Roman  empire 
and,  254,  259,  444  :  intercourse 
of  China  with,  263,  360-5 :  sup- 
posed Persian  invasion  of,  273  : 
political  divisions  in  fourth  cen- 
tury of,  286  :  Gupta  government 
of,  298 :  Bhandarkar  on  early 
history  of,  300  n. :  history  in 
sixth  century  of,  335 :  normal 
anarchical  autonomy  of,  357  :  em- 
bassies between  Persia  and,  426. 

Indian  history,  sources  of,  9  :  chro- 
nology, 18 :  Ocean,  37  :  equip- 
ment, 66  :  literature,  208,  304  : 
art,  239,  266  :  lyre,  288. 

Inclika,  of  Arrian,  13  n. 

Indo-Greek  dvnasties,  219-27, 
236-43. 

Indo-Parthian  dynasties,  227-86, 
252. 

Indor  inscription,  327. 

lndo-Scythian  =  Kushan,  q.  v.,  20. 

Indra  III,  Rashtrakuta,  880,  429, 
437. 

Indradyumna,  ruler  of  Bihar,  401 . 

Indrapalita  =  Sali^uka  Maurya,  q.  v  . 
197. 


492 


INDEX 


ludiaprastha  (Indarpat),  near 
Delhi,  3SG. 

Indraraja,  viceroy  of  Lata,  429. 

Indrayudlia  (Indraraja),  king  of 
Kaiiauj,  378,  398. 

Indus  river,  exploration  by  Skylax 
of,  37  :  boundary  between  Per- 
sian empire  and  India,  38,  150 : 
bridged,  51,  00 :  passage  by 
Alexander  of,  60,  113,  114: 
Aornos  washed  by.  56  :  Philippos 
satrap  of  countries  west  of,  90  : 
changes  in  course  of,  92  :  merged 
in  the  Mihran  of  Sind,  98,  110: 
delta  of,  102,  199,  213:  Bhagar 
branch  and  Kohr:ii  mouth  of, 
104 :  confluence  with  Akesines 
of,  109 :  provinces  to  west  of, 
110,  150,  154,  219:  voyage  of 
Nearclios  from,  105,  111  :  extinc- 
tion of  Greek  power  to  east  of, 
116,  238:  Seleukos  crossed,  119, 
150 :  not  the  Sindhu  of  the 
Mdlaiikdgnimitra,  201  n,  :  power 
of  Mithradates  I  extended  be- 
yond, 227  :  Parthian  chiefs  on 
lower,  230,  252  :  monasteries  be- 
tween Jumna  and,  296  :  massacre 
by  Huns  on  bank  of,  319  :  crossed 
by  Hiueu  Tsang,  351. 

Inscriptions,  classes  and  value  of, 
15-17,  282:  of  Asoka,  158,  161, 
166-70,  172-4  :  southern,  449. 

Ionic  pillars,  240. 

Ipsos,  battle  of,  119. 

Iron,  used  in  480  b.  c,  38  n. : 
Pillar  of  Delhi,  290  n.,  386. 

Irrawaddj',  river,  461. 

Irrigation  in  Maurj'a  period, 
132,  141  :  in  S.  India,  464  n. 

Isamus,  not  identified,  213. 

IsanadevI,  queen  of  Jalauka,  192. 

Isapur  inscription,  133  n. 

Isfandiyar,  Persian  chief,  103  jj. 

Issyk-kul,  lake,  249,  362. 

I-tsing,  Chinese  pilgrim,  26,  359. 

Jagannath,  temple  of,  475. 

Jahanglr  quoted,  140. 

Jaichand,  lihy.i  of  Kanauj,  385. 

Jain  histoi-ical  texts,  and  l)iblio- 
graphy,  10  n.,  31,  46  n.  :  clirono- 
logy,  "46:  traditions,  146,  193, 
440  :  religion  akin  to  Vishnuism, 
183  n.  :  Kharavela  a,  120  n.  :  cult 
related  to  the  Buddhist,  301. 

Jainism,  origin  of,  29,  33,  40 :  per- 
secution of,  203  n.,  455 :  in 
Vaibuli  and  Eastern  Bengal,  346 : 


in   the   Deccan,    427-9 :    in    the 

extreme    South,    440,    453,    454, 

463,  472,  473. 
Jaipal,  king  of  the  Panjab,  382. 
Jalalabad  =  Nikaia     (1),     50  :      = 

Lamghan,  382. 
Jalalpur,  ferry  of,  78-85. 
Jalandliar,  city  and  district,  167  n., 

268  71.,  351,  398. 
Jalauka,   legendary   son  of  Asoka, 

191. 
Jambhala,  the  Great  Siiirit  King, 

264. 
Jamu  =  Po-fa-to,  354. 
Jarasandha,  king,  31  n. 
Jat  (Jat)  caste,  411. 
Jdtakas,  or  'birth-stories,'  11,  62  n. 
Jatavarman    Sundara    I,    Pandya, 

456. 
Jdti  defined,  134  n.,  408  n.,  415  n. 
Jatinga-Eamesvara,  inscriptions  of 

Asoka  at,  167  n. 
Jaugada,  inscriptions  of  Asoka  at, 

169  H. 
Javelins,  Indian,  66,  125. 
Jayachchandra  =  Jaichand     Raja, 

385. 
Jayadeva,  poet,  406. 
Jayapida,  king  of  Kashmir,  372. 
Jayaskandhdvdra,  meaning  of,  398  «. 
Jaxartes,  river,  226,  249,  362. 
Jejakabhukti,  kingdom,  390. 
Jews,    Hadrian's    war    with    the, 

278. 
Jhang,  town,  93,  94 :  District,  96. 
Jihlam  (Jhelum),  river,  59,  60  n., 

78:  city,  63,  65,  71,  79-84:  Dis- 
trict, 60. 
Jinasena,  Jain  leader,  429. 
Jivitagupta,  king,  313. 
Jnana  Yasa,  Buddhist  saint,  260  n. 
Joan-jf^an,  horde,  320. 
Jodhpur,  chiefs  of,  385  n.,  390. 
Jogaltembhi  hoard,  215. 
Judas  =  St.  Thomas,  232. 
Julia  Domna,  empress,  13. 
Julianus,  Roman  emperor,  278. 
Julien,     Stanislas,     translator     of 

Hiucn  Tsang,  24. 
Jumna,  river,  310.  350,  381. 
Junagarh,  town,  133  n.,  309. 
Jushka,  Kushiin  king,  260  n. 

Kabul,  river  =  Kophen,  50:  pro- 
vince =  satrapy  of  Paropanisadai, 
149,  151  :  Kushan  kingdom  of, 
274  :  Turki  Shahiya  kings  of, 
374  :  city,  capital  of  Menander, 
199,  225. 


INDEX 


49-S 


Kacha  (Kucha),  Gupta  king,  281  n.,   ' 
331  n. 

Kachclih  =  Cutch,  q.  v. 

Kachchhwalia  dynasty  of  Gwalior, 
381. 

Kadamba  dynasty,  423. 

Kadaram  (Kidaiam),  in  Burma, 
466. 

Kadavan  =  TsiUa.vn,  471  n. 

Kadphi'ses  I,  history  of,  236,  250-2, 
277:  II,  liistory  of,  252-8,  277: 
devotee  of  Siva,  302. 

Kafir  tribes,  53  w. 

Kafiristan,  country,  263, 

Kahaon,  inscriptions  at,  310,  327. 

Kaila^a,  temple  at  Elura,  428,  430, 

Kaivarta  (Kewat)  caste,  400,  402, 
403  n. 

Kakanthi  (Kakandl)  — Kaviripad- 
danam,  445  n. 

Kakavarna,  king,  48. 

Kakka  it,  Rashtrakuta  king,  429, 
437. 

Kalabagh,  town,  38. 

Kalachuri  dynasty,  390,  392,  394  : 
clan,  414, 

Kalachurya,  king  Bijjala  a,  432. 

Kalamina,  legendary  city,  233, 

Kalanjar,  fortress,  381,  389,  391, 
392,  393, 

Kalasa,  king  of  Kashmir,  375. 

Kalidasa,  date  of,  201  n.,  304. 

Kalinga,  Kharavgla,  king  of,  42  n., 
207:  Tosali  city  in,  164:  king- 
dom, conqiiered  by  and  edicts  of 
Asoka,  156,  164,  168,  173:  de- 
population in  seventh  century 
of,  356 :  annexed  by  Rajaraja 
Chola,  465 :  conquered  by 
Kulottuiiga,  468. 

Kalinganagaram  =  Mukhalingam, 
475. 

Kaliyuga,  era,  27  n. 

Kallar,  tribe,  440,  470,  476. 

Kalliope,  queen,  242. 

Kalsi,  Asoka  inscription  at,  168  n., 
173., 

Kalyariapuri,  river,  163. 

Kalyani,  (1)  in  Burma,  inscrip- 
tions at,  11  n.:  (2)  in  Nizam's 
Dominions,  dynasty  of,  430-2. 

Kamakhya,  temple  at,  370. 

Kamara  =  Kaviripaddanam,    q.  v., 

423,  445  n. 
Kamarupa,  kingdom,  285,  341,  .348, 

356,  365,  369-71,419. 
Kamauli,  copperplate,  400  n. 
Kamboja  tribe,  184  :  rebellion,  399. 
Kampilya,  city,  377. 


Kanagora,  probably  not  Kanauj, 
376. 

Kanaknmuni,  a  Buddha,  82;;,  See 
Konakamana. 

Kanarese  language,  446,  460. 

Kanauj,  Ilarsha's  assembly  at, 
348  :  Yasovarman,  kin^t  of,  372, 
378  :  history  of  citv,  375  :  king- 
dom of,  322,  378-89:  Bhoja 
(Miliira),  king  of,  379:  captured 
by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  383:  re- 
duced by  Shihab-ud-dlu,  889  : 
Brahmans  and  Kayasths  fi'om, 
897. 

KanchI,  city,  Hiuen  Tsang  at, 
187,  408:  Pallava  capital,  284, 
426-32,  462,  468,  471-6. 

Kandahar,  city,  149,  151,  269  n, 

Kangra,  district,  76. 

Kanha  =  Krishna  I,  q.  v. 

Kanishka,  histoiy  of,  62  n.,  253, 
255-70  :  Buddhist  coins  of,  266  : 
kings  of  Kabul  descended  from, 
873,  410  :  II,  272  n. 

Kanishkapura,  town :  260  n. 

Ka-ni-ti,  a  variant  of  Kanishka, 
260  n. 

Kanogiza,  pi-obably  not  Kanauj, 
376. 

Kan-suh,  province  of  China,  248, 
277. 

Kanva  (Kanvayana)  dynasty,  204- 
6', 

Kao-fu  =  Kabul,  251  n.,  277. 

Kaoslian  Pass,  49. 

Kao-tsu,  Chinese  emperor,  359. 

Kao-tsung,  Chinese  emperor,  359. 

Kapilavastu,  town,  site  of,  159 : 
deserted  in  time  of  Fa-hien, 
299. 

Ka-p'i-li  countrj',  299  n. 

Kapin,  see  Ki-pin, 

Kapi^a,  kingdom,  meaning  of  name, 
251  n.,  317  n.,  354,  360,  362, 

Karachi  (Kurrachee),  port,  106. 

Kara-sliahr,  in  Turkestan,  253, 
361, 

KaratOya  river,  369,  371, 

Karikala,  early  Chola  king,  452, 
458,  461, 

Kark;-',  a  district  of  Kerala,  457, 

Karkota  dynasty  of  Kashmir,  372, 

Karluk,  horde,  362,  363. 

iCarmania,  province  of  Persia,  108, 
109,  114. 

Karnadeva,  king  of  Chedi,  392, 
431. 

Karnal,  in  Panjab,  388. 

Karna-suvarna,  kingdom,  387  n. 


494 


INDEX 


Karnata-Kshatriyas,  419. 
KriypHra-manjari,  drama,  oSO. 
Knnl,  plain,  66,  71,  84. 
Karsha,  weight,  141. 
Kiiitripura,  ?  =  Kartarpur,  285  n. 
Karur,     (1)     Tiru-Kariir,     ancient 

Chera  capital,  457  :  (2)  in  Coim- 

batoro,  457. 
Karuvilkl,  a  queen  of  Asoka,  191. 
Kasasena,  420,  421. 
Kashgar,  conc[ueie<:l  by  China,  253  : 

conquered  by  Kanishka,  262. 
Kashgaria  and  China,  360-2. 
Kashmir,  chronicle  of,  10 :  capital 

built  by  Asoka  in,  102:  censors 

in,  181  :  =  Ki-pin  in  sixth  century, 

251  n.,  317  H.,  860  n.  :  Buddhist 

council    in,    268 :     predominant 

power  in  seventh  century,  354  : 

history  of,  372-5. 
Ka^i,  kingdom,  30. 
Kasia,  temple  near,  159  n, 
Kasiarl  (Ka^Ipurll,  420. 
Kaspatyros  (Kaspapyros),  city,  38  n. 
Ka^yapa,  a  Buddha,  32  n. 
Katak  (Cuttack),  in  Orissa,  169  n. 
Katliaioi,    autonomous    tribe,    74, 

89,  286. 
Kfithiawar  =  Surashtra,  q.  v.,  290. 
Kathmandu,  in  Nepal,  365. 
Katuria  Raj,  of  Kumaon,  285  n, 
Katyayana,  date  of,  451,  460. 
Katyayanl-putra,  alleged  convoker 

of  Kanishka's  council,  2G8  «. 
KausambI,    city,    edict    of   Asoka 

from,  170  n.,  174  :  site  of,  293  n. 
Kautilya  =  Cha.nakya,  (j.v.,  42,  151. 
Kauttlhja-^dstra  —  Arlhaf<as(ra,  q.  v. 
Kaviri  ^Cauvery)  river,  8,  443,  444, 

461. 
Kaviripaddanam,  port,  444,  461. 
Kayal,  port,  450. 
Kayasth  caste,  397,  403. 
Kerala,  kingdom,  185,  438  n.,  441  «., 

446,  447,  449-59. 
Keralaputra,   kingdom   in   Asoka's 

time,  163,  446,  450  >i.,  450. 
Khaberis  =  Kaviripaddanam,  q.  v.. 

445  H. 
Khaibar  (Khyber)  Pass,  50. 
Khajuraho,  temples  at,  381,  391. 
Khalimpur,  copperplate,  398  x. 
KliandCsh,  censors  in,  182. 
Kharavela,  king  of  Kalinga,  42  n., 

207. 
Kharoshthl,  script,  166,  234  *(. 
Kharwar  tribe,  322. 
Kiuiwak  Pass,  49. 
Khotan,  relations  of  Asoka  with. 


47, 193:  persecution  of  Buddhism 

in,  203  n.  :  submitted  to  China, 

253 ;     conquered    by    Kanishka, 

262 :    visited    by    Hiuen    Tsang, 

352. 
Khottal,  province,  363. 
Khottiga,  Rashtrakuta  king,  437. 
Khri-ral,  Tibet.nn  king,  400. 
Khri-srong-de-tsan,   Tibetan   king, 

364. 
Khusru    I,    Anushirvan,    king    of 

Persia,  321 :   II,  king  of  Persia, 

426. 
Khwfija,  HajT,  Musalman  general, 

434. 
Khwarizm,  country,  221. 
khyber  (Khaibar)  Pass,  50. 
Kidaram,  see  Kadaram. 
Kieu-tsieu-k'io  =  Kadphise3  I,  q.v., 

250  n. 
Ki-pin,  province,  meaning  of  name 

of,  251  n.,  361  n. 
Kirtivarman,     (1)    Chandel    king, 

392 :   (2,  3'  I  and  II,  Chalukya 

kings,  425,427,  436. 
Kistna,  river  =  Krishna,  q.v.,  438. 
Kittur,  village,  443. 
Kleophis,  Assakenian  queen,  55. 
Koen-muo,  chiefof  theWu-sun,277. 
Koh-i-Mor,  probably  =  Mt.  Meros, 

53. 
Kohrai   (Kori),    mouth   of   Indus, 

104  n. 
Koinos,  general,  68,  75,  76,  112. 
Kokala,  in  Gedrosia,  106. 
Kol  tribe,  413. 
Kolar  gold-field,  443. 
Kolkai«=Korkai,  q.v.,  450. 
Kollam,   or  Malabar   era,    459   n. : 

=  Quilon,  465. 
Kollcru  (Colair),  lake,  284. 
Ko-long,  country,  364  n. 
Koniikamana  (Kanakamuni\  stCipa 

of,  197. 
Kongoda  =  Ganjam,  344. 
Kongu' country,  447,  457,  459, 
Konkan,     censors     in     the,     182 : 

Maurya  dynasties  of,  195,  425. 
Konkans,  the  Southern,  447. 
Kophen,  river,  50. 
Koppam,  battle  of,  431,  467. 
Korkai,  port   and    earliest  known 

Pandya  capital.  185,  450. 
Kos,  length  of,  135  n. 
Kosala,    North,    30-2,   43,   284  «. : 

South,  283. 
Kotailia,  Arab  general,  363. 
Kottanara  =  Cottonara,  q.v.,  457. 
Kottavai,  Tamil  goddess,  439, 


INDKX 


495 


Kottayam,  Pandyan  town,  450  n., 

456,  457. 
Kottura,  fort,  284  n. 
Kozolakadaphes  =  Kadphises  I,  q.v., 

250  n. 
Krakuchanda,  a  Buddlia,  32  n. 
Kramaditya,  title,  322  n. 
Krateros,  general,  52,   66,   70,  89, 

90,  102. 
Krishna.  (1)  Andhra  king,  207,  216  : 

■(2)  demigod.  309  :  ^3,  4,  5)  I,  II, 

III,  Rashtrakuta  kings,  425,  427, 

437,  464.  ■ 
Krishna,  river,  8, 162,  206,  423, 425. 

'467.' 
Krishnaraja  =  Upend ra,  q.v.,  395. 
Kshah'arata,    clan,   209,   211,   217, 

291. 
Kshatraujas,  king,  48. 
Kshatriya,    group   of   castes,   408, 

413. 
Kshemadharman,  king,  48. 
Kshemajit,  king,  48. 
Kshudraka  nation,  94,  138  n. 
KtSsias,  account  of  India  by,  10,  12. 
Kuhja    Vishnuvardhana,    Eastern 

Clialukya  king,  359,  425. 
Kuch  aborigine,  869. 
Kucha,  in  Turkestan,  248,  253,  361. 
Kudal,  =  Madura  city,  q.v.,  450. 
Kudal  Sangamain,  battle  of,  467. 
Kudam,  a  district  of  Kerala,  456. 
Kuddam,  a  district  of  Kerala,  450. 
Kujulakarakadphises  =  Kadphises 

I,  q.  v.,  251  n. 
Kulinism,  403. 

Kulja.  recovered  by  Chinese,  360. 
Kulottuiiga,  see  Rajendra  Cho]a  II, 

Kulottuiiga,  468. 
Kulottuiiga  Chola  III,  469. 
Kuniaon,  province,  285,  365. 
Kumara,  king  of  Kamaiupa,   348, 

349,  351,  353. 
Kumara  Devi,  queen  of  Chandra- 

gupta  I,  279. 
Kumaragupta,     (1)     I     of    Gupta 
dynasty,  299,  304,  327 :  (2)  II  of 
Gupta  dynasty,  281  «.,  312,  327  : 
(.S)  Later  Gupta,  312. 
Kumarajlva,  author,  329. 
Kumarapala,  (1)  king  of  Gujarat, 

181  :  (,2)  king  of  Bengal,  401. 
Kumraliar,    village,    121    n.,    and 

Additions. 
Kuna,  Pandya,  455. 
Kunala,  legendary  son   of  Asoka, 

191-3. 
Kunar,  river,  51,  52. 
K'undala,  meaning  of,  269  n. 


Kundalavana,  monastery,  269  «. 
Kunika  (Kuniya)  =  Ajatasiatru,  q.v., 

32, 
Kuntala,  country,  148  n. 
Kural,  the,  Tamil  poem,  445  »i.,  453. 
Kurrachee,  see  Karachi. 
Kurram  (Kurmah),  valley,  382. 
Kuru,  sons  of,  27  :  land  of,  336,  898. 
Kurumba  tribe,  470. 
Kuis.Tla  =  Daisaratlia,  q.v.,  197. 
Kuslian,  chronology,  20:    dynasty 

in    Northern    India,    236,    250- 

78. 
Kushans,  or  Yueh-chi,  Hinduized, 

409. 
Ku^inagara,  site  of,  159  :  deserted 

in  time  of  Fa-hicn,  299. 
Kusumadhvaja  =  Pataliputra,  214«. 
Ku;sumapura  =  rataliputra,S6,  39>i. 
Kutb,  mosque,  near  Delhi,  386. 
Kutb-ud-din    Ibak,    general,    393, 
■  406. 

Kuvana,  monastery,  269  n. 
Kuvera,  the  Great  Spirit  King,  264. 
Kwan,  Chinese  emperor,  254  n. 

Laccadives,  islands,  452  n.,  465, 
Lae-lih,  a  fictitious  name,  310  n., 

317  n. 
Lahore,  city,  81. 
Lakes,  artificial,  391,  396. 
Lakhmaniya  Rai,  king  of  Bengal, 

403-6,  415. 
LakhnautI,  city,  400. 
Lakshmanasena,    king   of  Bengal, 

403-6,  415. 
Lalitaditya,    Mukffiplda,     king    of 

Kashmir,  363,  372,  .378. 
Lalita    Patau    (Lalitpur),    Asoka's 

capital  of  Nepal,  162,  197. 
Lalita-  Vigraha-rCija-notaka,      d  ram  a, 

387. 
Lfilkot,  at  Delhi,  386  n. 
Lalliya,  king  of  Kabul,  374. 
Lamghan  =  . Jalalabad,  382. 
Lance,  Indian,  125. 
Land-revenue,  or  crown-rent,  181, 

141. 
Langdai-ma,  king  of  Tibet,  864,  400. 
Lan-sheu,  Ta-hia  capital,  277. 
LaodikC,    (1)    queen   of   Antioehos 

Theos,    220   n.  :    (2)    mother    of 

Eukratides,  242. 
Lata  =  Southein  Gujarat,  425,  429. 
Laukika  era,  251  n. 
Lauriya-Araraj,  pillar  at,   159  n., 

170  n. 
Lauriyil-Nandangar         pillar     at, 
159  n.,  170  n. 


496 


INDEX 


Lavasena,  421. 

Lead,  Andhra,  coinage  in,  211,  212. 

Leonnatos,  defended  Alexander, 
96  :  defeated  Oreitai,  106. 

Levi,  M.  Sylvain,  on  Nepal,  368  n. 

Lliasa,  foundation  of,  361  ;  inscrip- 
tions at,  364. 

Lha-thothori,  king,  32S  n.,  330. 

Liaka,  jatrap  of  Taxila,  227  n. 

Licence  tax,  128,  143. 

Lichehhavi,  clan,  32,  279-81,  327, 
366  :  exposure  of  dead,  155  n.  : 
era,  279. 

Li-I-piao,  Chinese  envoy,  359. 

Limyrike,  corruption  of  Damirike, 
q.  v.,  439. 

Lingayat,  sect,  432. 

Literature,  revival  of  Sanskrit, 
302 :  decadence  of,  357  :  Tamil, 
439.  445,  449,  452,  458,  461. 

Longitude,  reckoned  from  Ujjain, 
292. 

LumbinI,  garden,  159,  169,  197. 

Luniri,  tribes,  107  n. 

Lysias,  Indo-Greek  king,  243. 

Ma'abar,  or  Coromandel  coast,  235, 

Macedonia,  Asoka's  mission  to,  184. 

Macedonian  calendar,  86,  259  n.  : 
empire,  partition  of,  115. 

Macrinus,  Roman  emperor,  278. 

Madhariputra  (Mfithariputra),  me 
tronym  of  Sivalakura,  217. 

Madhulan,  inscription  of  Harsha 
from,  336  n.,  359. 

Madiiyamika  =  Niigarl,  199,  201, 
213. 

Madra  kingdom,  398. 

Mfulraka  tribe,  134  n.,  286. 

Madras,  438,  449,  460. 

Madura,  city,  444,  450-3,  456,  464, 
469  n. :  cotton  fabrics  of,  129  n.: 
conquest  of,  285 :  district,  446, 
449. 

Magadha,  kingdom,  29-31,  35,  36, 
39,  40,  4.3,  47,  117,  118,  146, 
164  n.,  194,  196,  202,  207,  295, 
312,  313,  318,  397,  400-3,  Later 
Gupta  dynasty  of,  312,  327. 

Magas,  king  of  Gyrene,  184. 

Maliaban,  not  Aornos,  57  )i. 

Muhdbhuruta,  epic,  10,  27. 

Mahadeva,  Yadava  king,  435. 

Maiiakosala  =  Eastern  Cliedi,  390. 

Mahanadi,  river,  156,  283. 

Malianaman,  inscriptions  of,  288  n. 

Malianandin,  king,  39,  48. 

Maliai>adma  Nanda,  king,  39-41, 
48,  117,  125. 


Mahuparinibbana  Suira,  referred  to, 
36  n. 

Maharashtra,  country,  424. 

Mahasena,  king  of  Avanti,  39. 

Maliasena-gupta,  mother  of  Prab- 
hakara-vardhana,  336  n. 

Mahfivalipur  =  Mamallapuram,  q.  v., 
474. 

Mahdvamsa,  chronicle,  11,  36,  47, 
186,  187. 

Mahavellipore  =  Mamallapuram, 
q.  V. 

Muhdvibhdshu  Sastra,  268. 

Mahavira,  founder  of  Jainisni,  29, 
33,  46,  48. 

Mahayana  Buddhism,  or  'Great 
Vehicle',  in  Burma,  188  :  history 
of,  266,  269  n.,  302:  monastery 
at  Pataliputra,  295  :  adopted  by 
Harsha,  347:  Tantric  form  of, 
370. 

Mahendra,  (1)  brother  of  Asoka, 
186,  187,  441  :  (2)  title  of  Ku- 
milragupta  I,  332  n.,  (3)  king  of 
South  Kosala,  284  :  (4)  tank,  472, 

Mahendragiri,  fort,  284,  mountain, 
320. 

Mahendrapala  (Mahendrayudha), 
king  of  Kanauj,  380,  391,  402  n. 

Mahendravadi,  ruined  city,  472, 

Mahendravarman  I,  Pallava  king, 
472,  474, 

Mahi,  river,  323,  326  n. 

Mahipala,  (1)  king  of  Kanauj,  380, 
391,  429,  466:  (2,  3)  kings  of 
Bengal,  399,  400. 

MahishmatI  =  Mandhata,  129  n. 

Mahmud  of  GhaznT,  14,  49  n.,  357, 
375,  382-4,  392,  396,  410. 

Mahoba,  Chandel  capital,  391,  394. 

Mahodaya  — Kanauj,  q.v.,  380  n. 

Mailapur,  near  Madras,  235, 

Maison  Dieu,  296  n. 

Maitraka,  clan,  314, 

Makran,  or  Gedrosia,  105,  108  n.  : 
coast  line  of,  106  n. 

Malabar,  Christians  in,  246  :  pro- 
vince, 439,  441  n.,  446,  458,  459, 
461  :  or  KoUam  era,  459  n. 

Mulabalhnan,  445  n. 

Malakand  Pass,  57  n. 

Malakuta,  country,  25,  454. 

Malana,  headland,  107. 

Mdlailmudhava,  drama,  378. 

Malava  (see  Mahva).  kingdom,  29, 
164  :  era,  277  :  tribe,  138 n.,  286  : 
Western,  =  Mo-ia-  p'o,  324:  in  Pra- 
yaga,  337  n.  :  Pawar  or  Paramara 
dynasty  of,  395. 


L\DEX 


497 


Mdlavikdgnimitra,  drama,  198  n., 
201  11. 

Malay  Archipelago,  voyages  to,  461. 

Malayalam  language,  139,  IGO. 

Malda,  district,  399  m. 

Maldives,  Cliola  conquest  of,  465. 

Malik  Kafur,  compared  with  Sa- 
mudragupta,  285  :  in  tho  Deccaii, 
434,  435  :  partial  conquest  of  tho 
South  by,  456,  469. 

Malin,  Cape,  107,  151. 

Malkhed-Manyakheta,  429. 

Main,  tribe  in  Sind,  99  n. 

Malloi,  autonomous  tribe  in  the 
Punjab,  74,  94-7,  99  n. 

Mahva  kingdom  {see  Malava),  or 
Avanti,  29  :  Saka  satraps  of,  211, 
217 :  conquered  by  Chandra- 
gupta  II,  290  :  described  by  Fa- 
hien,  296 :  unnamed  king  of, 
324  :  mediaeval  dynasties  of,  395. 

Mamallapuram,  'Seven  Pagodas' 
at,  474. 

Manalur,  South  and  North,  450, 
460. 

Manavamma  of  Ceylon,  473. 

MandakinI,  river,  198  n. 

Mandasor,  inscription,  327. 

Mangale^a,  Chalukya  king,  425, 
436. 

Mangalorc,  town,  185,  438,  446. 

Mangla,  on  the  Hydaspes,  83. 

Manigramakar  caste,  247. 

Manikka  Vasagar,  246. 

Manitasena,  421. 

Mafjju  Patan,  oldest  capital  of 
Nepal,  162. 

Mansera  (Mansahra),  Asokaiuscrip- 
tions  at,  168  u.,  173. 

Mantaraja,  king,  284. 

Manu,  laws  of,  144,  305. 

Manufactures,  regulation  of,  128. 

Manyakheta,  later  Kashtrakuta 
capital,  429. 

Maratha  wars,  5  n. 

Marathas  compared  with  Pallavas, 
447,  470. 

Marava  (Maravar),  tribe,  440,  470. 

Marco  Polo,  in  Southern  India,  15, 
451. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  Roman  emperor, 

273,  278. 
Mdrkandeya    Purdna,    cited,    6    n.  : 
used  by  Bana,  22, 

Married  monks,  367. 

Martaban  (Matama),  purt,  466. 
Martanda,  temple,  372. 
Marw^r,  state,  290  n.,  348  «.,  389. 
Masiates,  story  of  wife  of,  124  n. 


Massiiga  (Mazaga),  town,  54-7. 
Mathematics,  in  Gupta  age,  305. 
Malhura,  city,  Upagupta  a  native 
of,  189  ;  occupied  by  Menandor, 
199,  214  :  satraps  of,  227  n.  :  Bud- 
dhist mouasterits  at,  271,  296  : 
Jain  cult  at,  301  :  Iron  Pillar  at 
Delhi    probably   removed    from, 
386. 
Matsya,  kingdom,  398. 
Matsya  Purdna,  date  of,  11,21-3,  and 

corrections. 
Ma-twan-lin,   Chinese   encyclopae- 
dist, 250  n.,  340  n. 
Mauakes  (Mabakos),  a  Saka  chief, 

228  n. 
Maues,  Indo-Parthian  king,  227  ti., 

228,  229,  244. 
Maukhari,    dynasty,    312 :     coins, 

312  n. 
Maurya,  dynasty,  42,  48,  117,  127, 
133,    151,    194,    238:    origin    of 
name,    117:    empire,    137,    139, 
145,  153  :   buildings,  165  :  Kajas 
in  tho  Konkan,  195,  425. 
Mau-Sahaniya,  Paribar  capital,  391. 
Mazdai,  legendary  king,  232-4. 
McCrindle,  works  of,  13  n.,  121  n. 
I    Mediaeval  period,  408. 
j    Meerut  (Mirath),  Asoka  pillar  from, 
170  n. 
Megalithic  tombs,  444. 
Megasthenes,   on    India,    12,    120, 
211  n.,  123n.,  129  n.,  130, 133, 134  «., 
136  n.,  142,  147  n.,  151,  196,  442, 
452  n. 
Meghaddta,  of  Elalidasa,  304  w.,  406. 
Meghavarna,  king   of  Ceylon,   20, 

287. 
Moghavarnabhaya  =■  Gothakabhaya, 

q.  V. 
Mekran,  province,  -  Makran,  j.  i". 
Meleager,  Greek  general,  82. 
Memnon,  satrap  of  Gedrosia,  106  n. 
Menander,  Indo-Greek  king,  213, 

225,  239,  241,  243. 
Mercenaries,  massacre  of,  55. 
MSros,  Mount,  53. 
Merutuiiga,  Jain  author,  46  n. 
Mesopotamia,  Roman  conquest  of, 

259.  273. 
Metageitnion,  Attic  month,  86. 
Metempsychosis,  175. 
Me  war  ^  Udaipur,  415  n. 
Mihintal3,  stiipa,  of  Mahendra  at, 

186. 
Mihira  Bhoja,  379,  411  n. 
Mihiragula    (Mihirakula),    Sakala 
capital  of,  75  n. :  persecution  of 

k 


498 


INDEX 


Buddhism    bv,    203   n.  :    liistory 
of,  316-20,  327,  333. 
Mihian,  river,  38  «.,  93  n  ,  231  n. 
Milinda,  Questiotis  of,  Buddhist  book, 

22,  225. 
Jllnavar,  tribe,  439. 
Minghuir   (Mauyhiwar),   capital    of 

SuAvat,  54  n. 
Ming-ti,  emperor  of  China,  277. 
Minnagar,  capital  of  Sind,  231. 
Mirath  =  Meerut,  q.  v. 
Missions  of  Asoka,  184-90. 
Mildkshard,  law-book,  432. 
Mithila,  country,  400. 
Mithradates    I    and    II,    Parthian 

kings,  227-9,  244. 
Mitradeva     assassinated     Sumitra 

Sunga,  203,  204. 
Mitra  dynasty,  coins  of,  204  n. 
Modi  script,  435. 
Moga,  king,  227  n.,  228. 
Moggali,  father  of  Tissa,  189  n. 
Moha,  river,  326  n. 
Mo-la  p'o,  kingdom,  323-6. 
Monnhyr  (Mungir)  district,  31,  399, 

402,  416. 
Mongolian,  accounts  of  Kanishka's 

council,  268  n. 
Mongols,  248  n. 
Monuments,    historical    value    of, 

15. 
Mounychion,  Attic  month,  85,  86. 
Mousikanos,  king,  100,  101. 
Mrkh-chhakalikd,  play,  307  n. 
Mudgagiri="Monghyr,  399. 
HJudrd  Bdkshasa,  drama,  43  n.,  44  n. , 
117  n.,  120  n. :  female  guards  men- 
tioned in,  123  n.  :  plots  described 
in,  124. 
Mughalbin,  in  Indus  delta,  104  n. 
Muhammad,  son  of  Bakhtyar,  371, 
401-6,  416:    Ghori  =  Shihab-ud- 
din,  389  n.  :  bin  Kasim,  91,  430. 
Iduhammadan    conquest,    9,    371, 
382,  389,  393,  396,  404,  407 :  his- 
torians and  travellers,    15,  430  : 
dynasty  of  Kashmir,  375. 
Muizz-ud-din    =   Shihab-ud-din, 

389  /(. 
Mukhalingam   =   Kaliiiganagaram, 

475. 
Mukt.'iplda  "=  Lalitaditya,     king     of 

Kaslinilr,  363,  372,  378. 
Mularjija,  king  of  Gujarat,  381. 
Mules,  use  of,  134  M. 
Mulla  (Muhi)  pass,  102  n. 
Multau,    city,    not    the    scene    of 
Alexander's   wound,   96   Jt.  :    le- 
gend of  massacre  of  Zoroastrians 


near,  348  h.  :  province,  dependent 

on  Tsoh-kia,  354. 
Municipal  administration  in  Mau- 

rya  a.^e,  127,  128. 
MuFija,  Paramara  Raja,  395,  431. 
Mutilation,   penalty   of,    130,   144, 

297,  342. 
Muttra,  see  Mathura. 
Muzaffarpur,  district,  159. 
Muziris  =  Crangauore,  444,  457. 
Mvgdonia,  a  legendary  lady,  233. 
Mysore,  state,  423,  432-4,  438,  443, 

460,  465,  468,  475  :  =  Gangavadi, 

475 :  Hoysa'.a  dynasty  of,  432,  ' 

Nabataean  monarchy,  278. 
Nagabhata,  Gurjara  king,  378,  412. 
Nagananda,  drama,  343. 
Nagar  Brahmans,  415  n. 
Nagarl  ^Madliyamika,  213. 
Nagarjuni    hills,    inscriptions    in, 

192,  197. 
Nahapana    Kshaharata,    chieftain, 

209,  211,  217, 
Nahavend,  battle  of,  359. 
Nahrwalah,  city,  314,  389. 
Nakkavaiam   =   Nicobar     Islands, 

q.  v.,  466. 
Naksh-i-Rustam,     inscription     at, 

12,  38n. 
Nalandil,  monastery    at,   312,   333, 

359,  369  :  temple  at,  312. 
Nambudiri  families,  245. 
Nameless    king,    identity    of,    252, 

277. 
Nanaghat  inscriptions,  208  n, 
Nanda   dVnastj',  39-46,    117,    118: 

Raja,  208  *;. 
Nandi,  the  Bull  of  Siva,  272. 
Naudivardhana,  king,  39,  48. 
Nandivaiman,    Pallava   king,   451. 

474. 
Nannuka,  Chandel  Raja,  390. 
Nan-tiu-mi,  chief  of  the  Wu-sun, 

277. 
Napoleon,        Samudragupta        the 

Indian,  289. 
Narasimha  II,  Hoysala  king,  431. 
Narasiiiihagupta    Baladitya,    king, 

303  n.,  312,  318. 
Narasiiiiha-varman  I,  Pallava  king, 

453,  463,  473. 
Narmada    (Narbada),  river,   7,   28, 

118,  148,   184  n.,  198  n.,  286,  341, 

425,  426,  435. 
Narwar  town,  283. 
Nasik,   probably  capital  of    Naha- 
pana,217 :  ?  =  Hippokoura,'218n.: 

l)robably  capital  of  Pulakesiu  II, 


INDEX 


499 


426  :  early  RSshtrakuta  capital, 
429. 

Navies  of  Tamil  States,  444,  465, 
466. 

Nayapala,  kin.:^  of  Bengal,  400. 

Nearchos,  Alexander's  admiral, 
89  n.,  105-y,  111,  114:  trust- 
worthy, 121  n. :  on  use  of  cotton 
cloth  as  writing  material,  136  )i. 

Nedumfiran,  Pandya  king,  455  «. 

Nedum-cheliyau,  Pandya  king,  452, 
458. 

Nedumudi  Killi,  king,  452,  458, 
461. 

Negapatam,  Buddhist  buildings  at, 
466. 

Nellore,  town,  488,  446,  460. 

Nepal,  capitals  of,  162  :  Lichchhavi 
dynasty  of,  279  :  autonomous  in 
time  of  Samudragupta,  285 : 
Wang-hiuen-t'se  in,  353 :  route 
from  China  through,  354  :  rela- 
tions of  Tibet  with,  361,  366: 
history  of,  365-8. 

Nerbudda,  river,  see  Narmada. 

Nero,  Roman  emperor,  277. 

Nerva,  Roman  emperor,  278. 

Nestorianism  in  China,  S59. 

News-writers  of  the  Maurya  kings, 
129. 

Nicobar  Islands,  Chola  annexation 
of,  466. 

Niese,  paradoxical  notions  of, 
113  71.,  119  n.,  237. 

Nigliva,  i)illar  inscriptions  at,  32  n., 
169. 

Nikaia,  (1)  =  Jalalabad,  50,  60:  (2; 
on  battle-field  of  the  Hydaspes, 
71,  80. 

Nikanor,  son  of  Parmeniou,  49. 

Nikias,  Indo-Greek  king,  243. 

Nilgiri  mountains,  megalithic 
tombs  on,  444. 

Ni-li  town,  122  n. 

Nora  — Ora  (1),  56,  67. 

'Northern  Circars,'  province,  438. 

Nosala,  enchanted  isle,  108. 

Nudiah  (Nuddea),  town,  405,  406, 
416. 

Numismatics  (see  Coins),  princi2)al 
works  on,  17  ii. 

Nunez,  Portuguese  chronicler,  126. 

Nysa,  position  of,  52,  63. 

Ocean,  Indian,  36. 

Ohind  (Uhand),  on  Indus,  60,  81, 

111,  374. 
Oldfield,    Sketches  from    Nipal,    by, 

162  n. 


Olympic  atadiupii,  135  n. 

Omphis,    king   of  Taxila— Anibhi, 

q.  v.,  60. 
Onions,  forbidden,  297. 
OplJin,  ?  =  Alexandria    under    the 

Caucasus,  49  n. 
Ora,    (l)^Nora,    a    town    in     the 

hills,  56,  57  :  (2)  a  town  in  tho 

country  of  the  Oreitai,  114. 
Ordeal,  trial  by,  342. 
Oreitai,  nation  or  tribe,  106,  107. 
Origen  referred  to,  231. 
Orissa,  161  n.,  400. 
Orkhoii,  river,  362. 
Ormuz,  port,  108. 
Orobatis,  town  in  the  hills,  57. 
Orodes,  Parthian  king,  35  h. 
Orthagnes,     Indo-Parthian     king, 

280. 
Ossadioi,  tribe,  99, 
Otantapuri,    town,    =Blhar,    398, 

421. 
Otho,  Roman  emperor,  277. 
'0-tien-p'o-chi-lo  =  the  Indus  delta, 

354. 
Oudh,    province,   30,    199,    204  n., 

213,  280,  288,  293,  365,  379. 
Ou-k'ong^U-k'ong,  q.v,,  25. 
Oxathroi,  tribe,  99. 
Ox-races,  122. 
Oxus,  river,  220,  250,  264  x.,  277, 

286,  289,  360. 
Oxyartes,    satrap    and     father     of 

Roxana,  99,  116. 
Oxydrakai,    autonomous    tribe    in 

the  Panjab,  94,  95,  97. 
Oxykanos,  chieftain,  101, 

Padaria,  see  Rummindoi,  169. 

Padiyur,  beryl  mines  at,  443. 

Padraa-Sambhava,  Buddhist  mis- 
sionary, 364. 

PadmavatI,  (1)  sister  of  king 
Darsaka,  39  n. :  (2)  =  Narwar, 
283. 

Pahlava,  tribe,  210 :  supposed  to 
be  identical  with  Pallava,  469. 

Painting,  origin  of  Indian,  426. 

Pakores,  Indo-Parthian  king,   230. 

Paktyan  country,  38  n.,  278  n. 

Fala  dynasty  of  Bengal,  397-404. 

Palace,  Maurya,  121  m.,  122  :  at 
Kaviripaddanam,  416. 

Palaka,  king,  194  n. 

Palakka,  in  Southern  India,  284. 

Pali,  language,  166,  303  n. 

Pali,  village,  inscription  from,  327. 

Pallas,  image  of,  241  n. 

Pallava,  dynasty  and  history,  447, 

k  2 


500 


INDEX 


453,    463,    465,    469-77:     aixhi- 

tectuic,  472  n. 
I'alli  casto,  470,  476. 
Palmyra,  rise  of,  278. 
Pamirs,   Aryan   migration    across, 

28  :  Kanishka  in,  259  :  crossed  by 

Iliuen  Tsang,  352:  and  byWang- 

hiueu-t'se,  354 :    Cliinest-   opera- 
lions  ou,  363. 
rana,  defined,  140. 
Panchfila  country,  214,  375,  377. 
Pan-ch'ao,    Chinese    general,   253, 

254,  262,  278. 
Pandaia,  mythical  queen,  451. 
Pandion,  king,  452. 
Pandrethan,  old  capital  of  Kashmir, 

162  n. 
Pandu,  sons  of,  27, 
Piindya,     kin^^dom,    defined.    446, 

447  :  history  of,  449-58,  422. 
Pangu,  regent  of  Kashmir,  374. 
Paniui,  date  of,  451  ?«. 
Panjab,  changes  in  rivers  of,  91-3  : 

in  the  seventh  century,  354. 
Panjkora,  river,  =  Gouraios,  54. 
Pantaloon,   Indo-Greek  king,  224, 

243. 
Paper  introduced  into  Europe,  363. 
Parakrama-bahu,   king   of  Ceylon, 

455. 
Paramara  (see  Pawar),  dynasty  of 

Malwa,  395. 
Paramardi  ^Parmal),  Chandel  king, 

393, 
Paramartha,  Biiddliist  author,  47: 

describes     Kanishka's     council, 

268    n. :     on    Vasubandhu     and 

the  Guptas,  330-4. 
Parantaka  I,  Choja  king,  464. 
Pai'chment,     as     wilting  material, 

136  n. 
Parihar,   clan,   322,   378,  380,  384, 

390  :  rule  in  Bundelkhand,  390, 
Paripiltra  mountains,  6  n. 
Parla-Kimedi,  in  Orissa,  476  n, 
Parnadatta,  viceroy  of  Skandagupta, 

309. 
Parnotsa  =  Punach,  354  n. 
Paropanisadai,  satrapy  of,  116,  119, 

149-51. 
I'aropanisos  =  Hindu     Kush,      or 

Indian   Caucasus,   120:   spelling 

of,  149  n. 
Parricide  kings,  35. 
Par^va  (Parivika),  Buddhist  leadei", 

267,  268  n. 
Partha,  king  of  Kashmir,  374. 
Paitliia   proper,    221:    allotted    to 

ttt.  Thomas,  231. 


Parthian  parricide  kings,  35  :  early 
history,  219-22:  kings,  Mithra- 
dates  I  and  II,  227-9:  chiefs  on 
Lower  Indus,  230,  252,  259  :  war 
of  Kanishka,  262. 

I'asianoi,  liorde,  226  n. 

Pasupatinath,  convent  of,  162, 

I  'atala  =  Bahmanabad,  101-4, 

Patalene  =  delta  of  Indus,  101. 

l*atalil)utra  city,  foundation  of,  36  : 
^Kusumajiura,  or  Pushpapura, 
36,  39  n.  :  =  Patna  and  Banki- 
pore,  121  :  municipal  administra- 
tion of,  127-9 :  exploration  of 
site  of,  136  :  Asoka's  capital,  158: 
animal  hospital  at,  183  :  hermit- 
age of  Mahendra  at,  187 :  the 
Sunga  capital,  198 ;  threatened 
by  Menander,  199  :  =  Kusuma- 
dhvaja,  214  :  probably  occupied 
by  the  Lichchhavis,  279 :  ceased 
to  be  ordinary  residence  of  Gup(a 
emperors,  293  :  rebuilt  bv  Slier 
Shrih,  294  :  free  hospital  a't,  295  : 
footprints  of  Buddha  at,  346 : 
in  ruins  in  seventh  century, 
recovered  under  Dharinapala, 
398.     See  Additions. 

Pataliputtiram,in  South  Arcot,  472. 

Patau  (1^1  Asoka's  capital  of  Nepiil, 
162,  337:  (2)  =  Nahrwalah  or 
Auhilwara  in  Gujarat,  314, 

Patanjali,  grammarian,  202,  213, 
214,  451  n. 

Patharghata,  in  Bhagalpur,  399  n. 

Patika,  satrap  of  Taxila,  227  n. 

Patna,  city  =  Pataliputra,  120,  121  : 
latitude  and  longitude  of,  122  n. ; 
District,  29,  31. 

Pattiali  —  Padiy ur,   </.  v. 

Patumitra  dynasty,  308  n. 

Paul,  St.,  compared  with  Asoka, 
189. 

Paundravardhana,  kingdom,  373, 
398, 

Piiwa,  deatli  of  Mahiivira  at,  29. 

Pawar  (see  Paramara"*,  clan  and 
dynasty  of  Miilwa,  395. 

Peach  and  pear  introduced  into 
India,  263. 

Pearl  trade,  443,  450,  462. 

Pegu,  Asoka's  alleged  mission  to, 
187  :  kingdom  of,  466. 

PeitliOn,  son  of  Agenor,  99  n.,  lOl, 
110,  115,  116. 

Penal  code  of  the  Mauryas,  130, 143, 

Peniiar,  Northern,  river,  438,  446. 

Pepper  trade  of  Malabar,  443,  444, 
457. 


INDEX 


501 


Perdikkas,  general,  50,  95. 

Pergamum,  rise  of  kingdom  of. 
197. 

Periphts  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,  date 
of,  230,  231  n.,  445  n.,  450  n.. 
456. 

Periyar,  river,  456,  457. 

Perma  Jaaadekamalla  II,  Cli.n- 
lukya,  395. 

Persecution  of  religion  in  India. 
202,  346,  455. 

Persepolis,  inscription  at,  12,  38  n. 

Persia,  persecution  of  Christians 
in,  234  n.  :  Hun  attacks  on,  315  : 
Firoz,  king  of,  316 :  Khusru 
Anuslilrvan,  king  of,  321 :  em- 
bassies between  India  and,  21, 
426. 

Persian  hair-wasliing  festival,  124: 
penalty  of  shaving  thehair,  130k.  : 
exposure  of  the  dead  to  vultures, 
154 n.  :  names  in  Indian  inscrip- 
tions. 133  n. :  influence  on  India, 
145,  238,  273:  style  of  Asoka's 
pillars,  165:  connexion  in  third 
century  witJi  India,  273  :  combat 
with  a  lion,  293  :  religion,  348  n. 

Pertinax,  Roman  emperor,  278. 

Peshavvar  =  Purushupura,7.  t'.,60n. : 
birthplace  of  Vasubandliu,  330. 

Petra,  Nabataean  capital,  278. 

Peukelaos,  Indo-Greek  king,  243. 

Feukelaotis  =  Charsadda,  50,  57, 
60  n. 

Peukestas,  defended  Alexander,  96. 

Peutingerian  Tables,  71  n.,  4.39  n., 
444  n. 

Phaedra,  folk-lore  tale  of,  191. 

Pharro,  the  fire-god,  271. 

Phegelas  =  Bhagela,  40. 

Phileterian  sfacHnm,  135  n. 

Philip  II  of  Spain,  compared  with 
Asoka,  190. 

Philipi  OS,  satrap  of  countries  t< 
west  of  the  Indus.  98  :  murdered. 
109,  115. 

Philipps,  Mr.  W.  R.,  on  St.  Thomas, 
233  n. 

Philostratos,  Life  of  ApoJlonios  of 
Tyana,  13,  54  n.,  62  n.,  77  n.'. 
98  n.,  107  n.,  2-30  n. 

Philoxenos,  Indo-Greek  king,  243. 

Phraates,  or  Phraotcs,  Parthian 
kings,  35  n.,  226,  230  n.,  244. 

Phrynoi,  people,  223  n. 

Pich,  Sultans  of,  50  n. 

Piety,  law  of,  175,  177,  179,  180. 

Pigeons,  carrier,  140. 

Pilgrimage  of  Asoka,  158-60. 


Pilgrims,  Buddhist,  13,  23-6:  Ili- 
uen  Tsang,  the  prince  of,  14 : 
Fa-hien,  the  earliest  of,  13,  23, 
294. 

Pillar  Edicts  of  Asoka,  161,  167, 
169,  174. 

Pillars,  monolithic,  of  Asoka,  159, 
16.5. 

Pi-lo-mo-lo  =  Bhinm2ll  (Bhilmal), 
q.v,^2Cin. 

Pimprama,  capitulation  of,  74. 

Pinjrapole,  183  n, 

Piprfiwa,  early  inscription  from, 
16  :  =  Kapilavastu  of  Asoka, 
159  n. 

Pishtapura  =  Pithapuram,  284. 

Pitenika,  tribe  or  n:ition,  184. 

Pithora  Rai  =  Prithivl-raja  Chau- 
han,  387. 

Pituva  country,  348  n. 

Plague,  of  A.D.  167,  273. 

Plato,  Bactrian  king,  243. 

Plays,  Sanskrit,  inscribed  on  tables 
of  stone  at  Ajm6r  and  Dhar,  15  : 
ascribed  to  Harsha,  343  :  Tamil 
and  Aryan,  445. 

Pliny,  distances  recorded  by,  81 : 
date  of  his  Natural  History,  148  n. 

Po-fa-to,  probably  =Jamu,  354. 

Po-lu,  Little  =  Yasin,  363. 

Po-lu-sha  =  Shahbazgarhi,  60  n. 

Polygamy  at  Taxila,  154. 

Polyxenos,  ?  a  Bactrian  king,  243. 

Ponani  river,  456. 

Pontic  era,  259  n. 

Pooli,  a  district  of  Kerala,  456. 

PSros,  (1)  gave  information  to  Alex- 
ander, 40 :  ruled  kingdom  be- 
tween the  Hydaspes  and  Ake- 
sin63,  60  n. :  refused  submission, 
63  :  had  army  50,000  strong,  64  : 
gave  battle,  66 :  was  defeated, 
70,  113:  taken  prisoner,  70:  was 
granted  territory  of  the  Glausai, 
73  :  reinforced  Alexander,  74  : 
was  promoted,  89  :  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Panjab,  and  (?) 
murdered  by  EudSmos,  115: 
chariots  of,  125  n. :  (2)  nephew 
of  (1),  73. 

rorticanus,  chieftain  on  Indus, 
101  n. 

Portuguese,  called  Hunas,  321  n.  : 
at  Tuticorin,  451. 

Po-ta,  ?  =  Bactria,  278  n. 

Pounnat.a,  beryl  mine  at,  443. 

Poura,  capital  of  Gedrosia,  106  n., 
114. 

Poysala  =  Hoysala,  q.v. 


502 


INDEX 


Prabhakarii-vardhana,       I^aja       of 

Thangsar,  336. 
Prahodlia-chandrodatja,  drama,  393. 
Pradyota,  king  of  Avanti,  39  n. 
Praesti,  tribe,  101  n. 
Prakfiisaditya,  title  of  a  Gupta  king, 

311,  332  m. 
Prakrit,  language,  16G. 
Prasii    (Prasioi),    nations,    40,   43, 

126  n.,  206. 
Pratapa^Ila,   title    of    Prabhakara- 

vardhnna,  336  n. 
Pratihiira  =  Pariliar,  q.  v. 
Pratijhd,  meaning  of,  198  n. 
Prayaga,     Harsha's     assembly    at, 

350. 
Prithiraj-Falsa,  Hindu  epic  =  r/tantZ- 

Rdisd,  387  n. 
Prithivl-raja,  Chauhan,  I,  II,  387, 

388,  393. 
PrHhivJ-rdJa-viJaya,  poem,  387  n. 
Privy  Council,  Maurya,  140. 
Pnyadar^ikd ,  drama,  343. 
Prome,  kingdom  of,  466. 
Proxetioi,    Maurya     officials     corre- 
sponding to,  127  n.,  238  n. 
Ptolemy,  (1)  son  of  Lagos,  12,  58, 

96  n.:  (2)  Pliiladelphos,  147,  184, 

197:    (3)   geographer,   218,  438, 

443  n.,  445,  450  n. 
Pudukottai,   town  and    state,   446, 

460,  470. 
Puhar  -  Kaviripaddanam,  q.  v.,  444. 
Pulake^in,  Cluilukya  king,  I,  424, 

436  :    II,   340,   359,   425-7,   437, 

473,  474. 
Pulicat.  town,  438,  447. 
Pulinda,  tribe  or  nation,  184. 
Pulumayi,  Andhra   kings.  209-12, 

216,  217. 
Punach,  state,  354  v. 
Punch-marked  coins,  62  n. 
Punic  war,  196,  197. 
Punnata,  beryl  mines  at,  443. 
Puragupta,  history  of,  311,  332  n. 
Purali,  river,  106  n. 
Ptndna,  coin,  140. 
Purdnas,  eighteen,  11  :  value  of,  12  : 

date  of,  21-3,  305,  and  Additions  : 

on  Andhra  dynasty,  216  :  ignore 

the  South,  419. 
Puranic  lists,   12,   22,  30,   39,   41  : 

figures  for  duration  of  reigns,  48, 

2i6  :  Hinduism,  346  :  pantlieon, 

427. 
Puri,  temple  of  Jagannath  at,  475. 
Pfirna-varman,  the  last  descendant 

ofAsokn,  195,  846. 
Purnotsaiiga,  Andhra  king,  216. 


Putra-porul       Venba-Mdlai,      Tamil 

poem,  439  n. 
Piirru-nanmlrru,  Tamil    poem,  439, 

446  n. 
Purushapura  =--  Peshawar,    60    n. : 

capital  of  Kanishka,  261. 
Pushkarana  (Pokurna),  290  n. 
Pushpamitra,  misreading  for  Push- 

yamitra,  q.  v.,  198  n. 
Pushpapura  =  Pataliputra,  q.v.,  36. 
Pusliyabhuti,  ancestor  of  Harsha, 

345. 
Pushyagupta,    Vaiisya,    viceroy    of 

Chandragupta  Maurya.  132. 
Pushvamitra,  (1)  Sunga  king.  195, 

197-203,    214,    215:    (2)    nation, 

308. 

Queen,  of  Bimbisara,  32,  35  :  Kleo- 
phis  of  Massaga,  55  :  of  Maha- 
padma  Nanda,  117  :  of  Devabhuti 
Suiiga,  204  n.  :  Tertia,  of  Mazdai, 
233 :  Dhruva  Devi,  of  Vikrama- 
ditya,  299  :  Ananda,  of  Kumfira- 
gupta  I.  311  :  Didda  of  Kashmir, 
375:  Pandaia,  451. 

Queens,  of  Asoka,  191. 

Questions  of  Milinda,  Buddhist  book, 
22,  225. 

Quetta  route,  102  n. 

Quilon,  annexed  by  Eajaraja  Chola. 
465  :  church  at,  245. 

Raghnram^a,  date  of,  304  n. 

Rai  Jaipal,  misreading  for  Rajva- 
pala,  7.  r.,  383  «.,  386n. 

Rajadhiraja,  Chola  king,  431,  467. 

Rajaditya,  Chola 'king,  429,  464. 

Rajagriha,  ancient  capital  of  Ma- 
gadiia,  31:  first  Buddhist  council 
at,  268. 

Rajariya  =  Kshatriya,  134  n. 

Rajaraja  the  Great,  Chola  kins. 
431,  454,  464-6. 

Rfija^ekhara,  dramatist,  380. 

Rdjasuya,  sacrifice,  201. 

Rujaiaruhginl,  chronicle  of  Kash- 
mir, 10. 

Riijauri  =  Abhisfira,  59  n.,  88,  354  n. 

Rajendra  Chojadeva  I,  history  of, 
397  n.,  466. 

Rajendra-Cho|a  II,  Kulottunga, 
liistory  of,  468. 

Rajendra  Parakessarlvarman,  suc- 
cessor of  Rajridhirfija,  467. 

Raji,  king  of  Kan.auj,  .381  n. 

Rajput,  clans,  822,  407-15. 

Rfijputana,  Gurjaras  in,  321,  379. 


INDEX 


503 


Eajuvula,  satrap  of  Mathurfi,  227  n. 
Eajvapala,    king   of    Kanauj,    383, 

886  n. 
Eajya.4il,  sister  of  Harslia,  337. 
Kajva-vardhana,  Kflja  of  Tliangsar, 

336,  337,  359. 
Ralpachan,  king  of  Tibet,  364. 
Kamabhadra  (Ramadeva),  king  of 

Kanauj,  379. 
Ramac);andra,  Yfulava  Raja,  435. 
TtdniacharHam,  poem,  IS,  400  n. 
Rfiniadatta,  Raja  of  Mailuira,  227  n. 
Ramannadc'^a,  antiquiti<  s  of,  188  n. 
Ramanuia,  Vaishnava,  philosopher. 

433,  468. 
Rfimapala,  king  of  Bengal,  400. 
Biimayana,  epie,  10. 
RanK^vaJam,  Adam's  Bridge,  285. 
Rfimpal,  in  Dacca  District,  403. 
Rampurwa,  pillars  at,  170  n.,  174. 
Rana^ura,  chief,  397  «. 
Racgamati,    capital    of     Karnasu- 

varna,  337  n. 
RaptI,"  river,  30,  159  n. 
RaptI,  Little,  river,  159  n. 
Rasena,  Tomar  Rfija.  385  n. 
Rashtrakuta,   clan,    380,  381,  400: 

king   Indra   III,   380 :   dynasty, 

427-31  :   wars  with  the  Pallavas, 

475. 
Ras  Malin,  cape,  107. 
Ratanpur,  capital  of  Eastern  Chcdi, 

890,  394. 
Rathikasena,  421. 
Ratbor,  clan,  379,  385,  390,  413. 
Rainavalt,  drama,  343. 
Ratta,  clan  =  Rashtrakuta,  q.  v.,  424. 
Raverty,  works  of,  15  »>.,  93  n.  :  on 

Alexander's   route,  85  :   on    Mu- 

hammadan    conquests,    382    n. : 

on  foundation  of   Delhi,   384  n. 
Rawalpindi,  town  and  cantonment. 

61,  155. 
Records,  official,  342. 
Red  Fort,  at  Delhi,  386. 
Reign,  average  length  of,  44. 
Religion,     Buddhism     became     a 

world,  188  :  of  the  pundits,  302  : 

Harsha's     eclecticism    in,    345  : 

Jain,  440,  453,  454,  455,  463,  473. 
Religious   treatises,  30 :    centre   in 

Magadha,  31  :  persecutions,  202, 

203,  368. 
Rest-houses,  described  by  Fa-hien, 

295. 
Reverence,  duty  of,  177. 
Rice,   Epigraphia    Caimafica,    17    n., 

449. 
Rig  Veda,  quoted,  92  n. 


Rifu-saiiihdra,  date  of,  304  n. 
Roads,  in  Maurya  period,  135, 
Rock  Edicts  of  Asoka,  158,  163  n., 

166-8,  173,  106,  197. 
Rohtas,  in  Salt  Range,  63  n. 
Roman  cnmi,  254  :  coins  in  Southern 

India,  443  :    empire   and   India, 

254,  256,  259,  278  :  estimation  of 

beryls,  443. 
Rome,  see  Roman. 
Roxana,  consort  of  Alexander,  99, 

116. 
Rudradaman,  Western  Satrap,  132, 

1.33,  210,217. 
Rudrasena,  Western  Satrap,  292. 
Rudrasiihha,  Western  Satrap,  292. 
RummindeT,   inscription   of  Asoka 

at,  169,  174. 
Rupnath,   inscription  of  Asoka  at, 

167  M.,  172. 


Sabarcae,  tribe,  99  n. 
Sabuktigin,  Sultan,  382,  391,  393. 
Sacrifice,  prohibited  by  Asoka.  176, 

194  :  revival  of,  190,"  194,303. 
Sagara,  legendary  king,  201. 
Sahasram,  inscription  of  Asoka  at, 

167  n,  172. 
Saisunaga,  dynasty,  9,  31,  44-8. 
Saka  dynasty,  274  :  era,  278,  471  n. : 

religion,     348     «.  :      Satraps     of 

Suiashtra,  145  n.,  290,  .802  :  tribe 

or  horde,  226,  249,  277,  322,  409. 
Sakala  =  Sialkot,     not  =  Sangala, 

75  ?i.:  capital  of  Mihiragula,  316, 
,  354. 

^iikambhari  =  Sambhar,  q.  v.,  386. 
Sakarauloi,  tribe,  226  n. 
Sakastene  =  SIstan,  209,  226. 
Saketam,  in   Southern  Oudh,   199, 
,  213,  214. 
Sakra,  a  god,  349. 
Sakta  Hindus,  370. 
Sakya  territory,  29  :  clan,  37. 
Sakyamuni,    epithet    of    Buddha, 

32  n. 
Salaries,  Maurya,  140. 
Salem,  District,  443,  447,  457,  459. 
Sales,  tax  on,  128,  142. 
Salisuka,  Maurya  king,  197,  208  »?., 

214. 
Salt  Range,  79,  80,  83,  238  :  crossed 

by  Hiuen  Tsang,  351  :  subject  to 

Kashmir  in  seventh  century,  354. 
Sama7iiia2yl(ala     Si'itra,    referred    to, 

Sin. 
Samantasena,  402,  415,   < 


504 


INDEX 


Samarah,  lake,  104. 

Samarkand  =  Sogdiana,  221  :  Arab 
conquest  of,  363. 

Samatata.  kingdom,  158  n.,  285. 

Sambastai,  tribe,  99  n. 

Sambhar,  Chauhan  dynasty  of,  386. 

Sambos,  chieftain  on  Indus,  101. 

Sariikliya  philosophy,  332. 

Sammitiya,  school  of  Buddhism, 
339,  345. 

Samprati,  traditions  of,  192,  193. 
440. 

Samudrasupta,  history  and  wars 
of,  6,  20,  281-90,  292,  293,  365  : 
compared  with  Bhoja  Pawar, 
396:  caste  of,  407:  at  Kanchl, 
471. 

Sananda  Vikrama  eia,  42  n.,  387  w. 

Sanclii,  stupas  at,  165 :  inscribed 
Asoka  pillar  at,  170,  174  :  relic 
caskets  at,  190  n.  :  Gupta  inscrip- 
tion at,  327. 

Sandaruk,  legendary  city,  232,  238. 

Sangala,  destruction  of,  75. 

Sangam,  of  Madura,  453. 

Sangata,  Maurj-a  king,  197. 

Sanghamitra,  legend  of,  187. 

Sangrama,  king  of  Kashmir,  375. 

Saiikaravarman,  king  of  Kashmir, 
373.  375. 

Sanskrit,  allied  to  Prakrit  and  Pali, 
166  :  plajs,  15,  343,  387  :  revival 

,  of.  302, 

Santa-rakshita,  Buddhist  mission- 
ary, 364. 

San  Thom6,  shrine  of,  235. 

Sapor  Shahpur)  I,  II,  kings  of 
Persia,  272,  274,  278. 

Sapta^ataka,  referred  to,  208. 

Sarapis,  deity  on  Huvishka's  coins, 
271, 

SarasvatI,  goddess,  396. 

Sarnath,  near  Benares,  159,  161, 
170,  174,  256  n.,  307  n.,  399  n. 

Sarvastivadin,     Buddhist     school, 

,  267. 

Sai^anka,  persecuted  Buddhism, 
203    n.,   346:     king    of    Central 

,  Bengal,  337,  339,  346. 

Sai5igupta  =  Sisikottos,  59. 

Sassanian  dynasty,  212,  273,  278, 

,  821. 

Batadhanvan,  Maurya  king,  197. 

Satadru  =  Sutlaj  river,  q.  v.,  92  n. 

Satakarni,  name  or  title  of  Andhra 

,  kings.' 208. 

Satavahana  =  Andhra  dynasty, 
q.  r.,  208, 


Satiyaputra  kingdom,  163,  185,  446, 
459. 

Satpute  families,  163  n. 

Satraps,  Northern,  of  Taxila,  227. 

Satraps,  Western,  of  Surashtra,  20, 
145  n.,  290,  302. 

Satva^raya,  Chalukva  kings,  431, 
436. 

Saubhuti=Sophytes,  q.  v.,  90,  238. 

Saunia,  resembled  Indian  lance, 
125. 

Saurashtra  =  Surashtra,  q.  v. 

Savatthi  =  Sravasti,  q.  v.,  30. 

Sculpture,  Indo-Greek,  241,  medi- 
aeval, 358. 

Scythia  =  the  valley  of  the  Lower 
Indus,  230. 

Scythian  descent  of  Eajputs,  409. 

Se,  tribe  =  Saka,  q.  r.,  226. 

SelenS,  deitv,  on  coins  of  Kanishka, 
265. 

Seleukidan  era,  196  :  kings,  147. 

Seleukos,  (1)  Nikator,  contempo- 
rary of  Chandragupta  Maurya, 
19  :  rival  of  Antigonos  and  king 
of  Syria,  118:  invaded  India 
unsuccessfully  and  ceded  a  large 
part  of  Ariana,  119,  149-51,  219, 
238  :  dispatched  Megasthenes  as 
envoy,  120,  238  :  chronology  of 
reign  of,  196  :  son  and  giandson 
of,  220 :  Niese's  theory  about, 
119  n.,  237  :  (2)  brother  of  Anti- 
ochos  Theos,  220  n. :  (3)  Kalli- 
nikos,  244  :  (4)  Philopator,  244. 

Semiramis  in  India.  49,  105. 

Sena  dynasty  of  Bengal,  408-6, 
415-22. 

Septimus  Severus,  Eoman  emperor, 
278. 

Seres  =  Chinese,  223  n. 

Sevana  (Seuna),  the  Yadava  terri- 
tory, 434. 

Seven  Pagodas,  474. 

Sha-che,  not  =  Saketam,  213. 

Shahbazgarhi  =  Po-hi-sha,  60  n.  : 
inscription  of  Asoka  at,  168  9i., 
173. 

Shahdheri,  site  of  Taxila,  61  n., 
79. 

Shahiya  kings,  373,  883  n.,  409. 

Shahkot,  (1)  Pass,  57  n. :  {2)  in 
Gujranwfila  District,  316  n. 

Shalipur,  see  Sapor. 

Sbahr,  capital  of  Bajaur,  52  n. 

Slia-lo-ka,  monastery,  268. 

Shan,  nation,  370. 

She-hwang-ti,  Chinese  emperor,  47. 


INDFA' 


505 


SherShah,  rebuilt  Pataliputin,  294  : 

destroyed  Kanauj,  377. 
Sher    Sur,    built    by    Slier    Shah. 

877. 
Shihab-ud-dln,    Sultan,     wars    of, 

877,  385,  389. 
Ships,   on  Andhra  coins,  211  :    in 

the  South,  446,  461. 
Si,  viceroy  of  Kadphises  II,  253. 
Sialkot,  fortress,  74,  75  n.,  81. 
Siboi,  tribe,  93. 
Sibvrtios.     satrap     of     Arachosia, 

106  n.,  116, 120. 
Sick,  Asoka's  care  for,  183,  Harsha's 

care  for,  344. 
Siddapura,      Asoka's     inscriptions 

near.  167  n.,  172. 
Sien-chi,  Chinese  general,  363. 
Sifxir,  legendary  general,  232. 
Sigerdis,  territory,  213. 
Sigiri^'^a  frescoes,  306. 
Sihwan,  ?  =  Sindim.ana,  101  n. 
Sikh  religion,  368  n. 
Sikkim,  state,  365. 
Siladitya,      (1)   king   of  Mo-la-p'o, 

325,  (2;  title  of  Harsha-vardhana, 

336  n, 338. 
Sirhhapura,  kingdom  =  Salt  Eange, 

354. 
Simhavarman,   Pallava  king,   471, 

476. 
Siriihavishnu,   Pallava   king,    472, 

474. 
Simuka,  first  Andhra  king,  207,  216. 
Sind,    associated    with   Upagupta, 

189 :      changes     in      rivers     of, 

91,    98,    231  :     capital    of,     100 : 

Kanishka  held,  259  :  kingdom  of, 

354,  381  :  Muhammadan  conquest 

of,  389. 
Sindhu,    river   in    Central    India, 

200. 
Sindhuraja,  king  of  Malwa,  396  n. 
Sindimana,  ?  =  Sihwan,  101. 
Singhana,  Yadava  king,  434. 
Sipraka  =  Simuka,  q.  v.,  216. 
Sisikottos  =  6a^igupta,  59. 
Sistan.    province,    209,    226,    229. 
,  248,  249  n.,  273. 
Si^uiiagii,  king,  31,  48. 
Sita,  river,  264  n.,  265  n. 
Siva,  god,  on  Kushan  coins,  272  : 

worshipped  by  Harslia  and   his 

ancestor,   266,    345,   350:    Chola 

kings  devoted  to,  455,  465,  468  : 
,  Pallava  cult  of,  476,  477. 
Sivaji,  435  n. 
Sivalakura,  Andhra  king,  217. 


Siva    Skanda,    Andlira   king,    218 

^  (table). 

Siva  Sri,  Andhra  king,  218  (table). 

Skanda,  deity,  271. 

Skandagupta,    history   of,    308-11, 

327. 
Skanda  Pnrdna,  date  of,  22. 
Sk.nndastanibhi,  Andhra  king,  216. 
Skeirophurion,  Attic  month,  87. 
Skylax  of  Karvanda,  37. 
Slavery  in  India,  100,  178,  180,441. 
Socotra,  Christians  in,  235,  246. 
Sodasa,  satrap  of  Matthura,  227  v. 
Sogdiana  =  Khanate   of   Bukhara, 

250,  251. 
Sogdioi,     included     in     sixteentli 

satrapy,  221. 
Sokrates  Scholastikos,  cited,  233  n. 
SolankI  clan  =  Chalukya,  q.  v.,  412, 

414. 
SomaladevI,  queen,  386  n, 
Soma^arman,  Maurya  king,  197. 
Somei^vara   I-IV,  Ohalukya   kings, 

431,  437,  467. 
Son,  river,  121,  129  n,,  164. 
Song-yun,    Cliinese     pilgrim,     25, 

261,  310  J?.,  317. 
Sonmiyani,      near     Purali     river, 

104  n. 
Sonpat,  seal  of  Harsha  from,  336  m. 
Sopara,   inscription    of    Asoka    at, 

108  n. 
Sophagasenas  =  Subhagasena,  223  n. 
Sophytes,  king  of  the  Salt  Range, 

80,  90,  238. 
Southern     India,     defined,     438  : 

defective  history  of,  7,  449. 
Sovanabhumi  =  Pegu,  187. 
Spalirises,     Indo- Parthian     king, 

229. 
^ravana  Belgola,  146,  440. 
Sravasti,  capital  of  Kosala,  80  :  site 

of,  30  w.  :  almost  deserted  in  time 

of  Fa-hicn,  299  :   Vikramaditya, 
,  king  of,  333. 

Srenika,  king=  Bimbisiira,  q.  v.,  31. 
Sri     Kakulam,      ancient     Andhra 

cai)ital,  206,     See  Additions. 
Srimal  =  Bhinmal,  q.  v.,  326  n. 
Srinagar,  capital  of  K.nshmlr,  162  v. 
Sri  Purambiya,  battle  of,  454,  475. 
Srlraiigam,  town,  468. 
Srong-tsan-Gampo,   king   of  Tibet, 

330,  35.'},  359,  361. 
SsQ-ma-cliien,    Chinese    historian, 

13. 
Stadium,  135  «. 


506 


INDEX 


stamp  on  goods  sold,  143. 
Stnsandros,    satrap    of    Aria    and 

Drangiana,  116. 
StasanOr,    satrap    of    Bactiia    and 

Sogdiana,  116. 
Steel,  Indian,  97, 
Stlianu  Ravi,  Cliera  king,  457  n. 
Sthfinvi^vara  (Sthane^vara),  Than- 

Ssar,  335. 
Stliavira,       Buddhist       Mahayana 

school,  287,  473. 
Sthiramati,  Buddhist  teacher,  314, 

329. 
Sthulabliadra,  Jain  saint,  46  n. 
Stoic,  Asoka  resembled  a,  190. 
Stone,  inscriptions  on,  16. 
Stiabo,  on  Alexander's  route,  80-3. 
Strato  I,  ir,  Indo-Greek  kings,  227, 

243. 
Stilpaf;,    ascribed     to     Asoka,     164, 

165  :    erected    by    Harsha,    344, 

349. 
Subhagasena  =  Sophagasenas,  222, 

223  n. 
Sudar^ana,  lake  at  Girnar,  132. 
Sudra,  king  of  Sind,  354  :    castes, 

134  n.,  408  n. 
Sue  Vibar,  inscription  from,  257  n. 
Suhastin,  440. 

Sujyeshtha,  fcunga  king,  203. 
Sukalpa,  Nanda,  40. 
Sukhchainpur,  ?  =  Nikaia  (2),  71. 
Sumatra,  Hindu  colonies  in,  26. 
Suraitra,  Sunga  king,  203. 
Sun   worship,  345,    346,    350,    354, 

372. 
Snndara,   a   Pandj-an  royal   name, 

450. 
^uiiga  dynasty,  198  204,  214. 
Surfishtra,    annexed    by    Chandra- 

gupta  II,   145  n.,  290  :    annexed 

by  Menander,   199,  213,   223  n.  : 

satraps  of,  145  n.,  290,  302  :  held 

by  kings  of  Kaiiauj,  380. 
Surat,  animal  hospital  at,  183. 
Susa,    Alexander's  return    to,    109, 

110,  114. 
Sui^arman,    last   Kanva   king,  205, 

206,  216. 
Sushkaletra,  in  Kashmir,  260  n. 
Siu>lma  Ji'itaka,  referred  to,  02  n. 
Sutlaj,  river,  92,  93,  379. 
Suvarna,  a  gold  coin,  311. 
Suvarnagiri,  hill,  164  n. 
Suvarnarakha.  river,  420. 
Suwat,  valley  and  river,  53  n.,  57, 

2.^0n.:=:U"dyana,  363. 
Suyai^as,  a  son  of  Asoka,  197  n. 
Suyya,  a  minister  in  Kashmir,  373. 


Svetambara,  Jain  sect,  46  n. 

Swat,  valley,  see  Suwat. 

Syr  Darya,  river  =  Jaxartos,  362. 

Syria,  embassif  s  to  India  from,  12  : 
Asoka's  mission  to,  184.  See 
Seleukidan  and  Seleukos. 

Syria7i  Church  in  India,  245. 

Tabakdt-i-Nd.sirt,  history,  416. 

Tabari,  Muliammadan  historian, 
426  n. 

Tabaristan,  south  of  the  Caspian, 
363. 

Taghdumbash  Pamir  =  Tsungling 
range,  253,  262. 

Ta-hia,  Chinese  name  for  Bactrians, 
250,  277. 

Tahkik-i-Hind,  by  Alberuni,  15. 

Tail'a;  II,  III,  Chalukya  kings, 
395,  431,  432,  437. 

Tai-tsung,  Chinese  emperor,  352  n., 
353,  359,  362. 

Takht-i-Bahai,  inscription,  234  n. 

Takkasila  (Takshai^ila)  =  Taxila, 
q.  v.,  61  n. 

Takkola,  battle  of,  464. 

Takkolam  (Tak6la\  port,  466. 

Taklamakan,  desert,  248. 

Talas,  in  Turkestan,  362. 

Talawarl,  battle  of,  388. 

Talent,  value  of,  38  n. 

Tamil,  historical  poems,  18  :  king- 
doms, 163,  445 ;  hostility  to 
Ceylon.  187:  country,  413  w., 
423,  438  :  language  and  litera- 
ture, 439,  445,  449,  452,  460: 
religion,  440,  441  :  social  con- 
dition, 441,  445. 

Tamilakam,  the  Tamil  country, 
438. 

Tamluk=Tamralipti,  162,  298. 

Tamralipti  =  Tamluk,  162,  298. 

Tfimraparni,  river,  450. 

T'ang,  dynasty  of  China,  359,  361. 

Tangyur  encyclopaedia,  405, 

Tanjore.  District,  187  :  great  temple 
at,  465. 

Tantric  Buddhism,  367,  370. 

Taia,  Green  and  White,  361. 

Tarai,  pillar  inscriptions  in,  167, 
169,  174:  country,  .365. 

Taiain,  battle  of,  388. 

Taiim  basin,  259. 

Tarn,  Mr.,  on  Hellenic  influence, 
241  n. 

T."ishkurghan,  pass,  253. 

Tatta,  sie  Thathah. 

Taxila,  a  great  citj',  50  :  submitted 
to  Alexander,  60:  seat  of  Hindu 


INDEX 


oo: 


learninjr,  CI,  154  :  march  from, 
03,78-85  :  Mainya administration 
of,  129:  seat  of  a  viceroy,  104  : 
satraps  of,  227  :  Partliian  ruler  of, 
230  n.  :  remains  of,  250  n.  :  subject 
to  Kashmir  in  seventli  century, 
854. 

Telephop,  Indo-Greek  king,  243, 

Telugu,  language  and  population, 
423,  400. 

'Ten  Tribes'  (Turks),  country  of, 
302. 

Tents,  invention  of,  341. 

Tertia,  legendary  queen,  233, 

ThanCsar  =  Sthanvl^vara,  335, 

Tharekhettra  =  Kadaram,  q.  v., 
400  n. 

Thathah  (Tatta\  in  Sind,  103, 

Theodore,  in  Suwat  inscription, 
240  n. 

Theodotus,  see  Diodotos  I,  222  n. 

Theophilos,  (1)  Indo-Greek  king, 
243,  (2)  missionary,  240, 

Thi-srong-de-tsan,  Tibetan  king, 
304, 

Thoas,  satrap  of  Gedrosia,  100  n. 

Thomas,  St.,  231-5,  245-7. 

Thracian  troops  of  Alexander,  51, 
88,  98,  99  «.,  115, 

Tiastanes=Chashtana,  satrap,  218. 

Tiberius,  Roman  emperor,  277. 

Tibet,  Kambojas  of,  184  :  persecu- 
tion of  Buddhism  in,  203  n.  : 
relations  of  India  with,  300-5  : 
Buddhism  in,  304,  402. 

Tibetan  affinities  of  Lichchhavis, 
32  n„  30 :  traditions,  47  n.  : 
alphabet,  301  :  defeat  by  Lalita- 
ditya  of  Kashmir,  372. 

Tigris,  river,  109,  259. 

Tilaura  Kot  =  KapiIavastu  of  Hiuen 
Tsang,  159  n. 

Timber,  in  ancient  Indian  build- 
ings. 122. 

Timmu,  confluence  of  Jihlam  and 
Chinab  at,  91. 

Tinnevelly,  District,  440,  449,  450. 

Tirauri,  error  for  Talawarl  or 
Tarain.  7.  r.,  388  n. 

Tirhut,  province,  30,  .353,  392  : 
=  Tlrabhukti,  390  m. 

Tirujnanasambandar.  saint,  455. 

Tirupathi,  hill,  438,  447. 

Tiruvallava,  Tamil  poet,  445  n., 
45o. 

Tiruvanji-kalam,  an  early  Chera 
capital,  457. 

Tishyarakshita,  a  legendary  queen 
of  Asoka,  191. 


Tissa,    (1)   king  of   Ceylon,    180  : 

(2)  Buddliist  saints  named,  189  »i. 
Titus,  Roman  emperor,  278. 
Tlvara,  a  son  of  Asoka,  192. 
Tocharoi,  tribe,  220  n. 
Tokmak,  in  Turkestan,  302. 
Toleration,  178,  347. 
Tomara,  clan,  385  n.,  380,  387,  390, 

414. 
TomSros,  river,  107. 
T'ong-she-hii,  Turkisli  chief,  300. 
Topra,    inscribed    pillar    of   Asoka 

from,  170  w. 
Toramana,  Hun  chief,  310,  327. 
Tortoise  shell,  97  n. 
Torture,  judicial,  143. 
Tosali,  city,  129,  104. 
Tradition,  value  of,  4. 
Traikutaka  era,  394. 
Trajan,    Indian   embassy   to,    259 : 

annexation   of  Mesopotamia   hv, 

259,  278. 
Travancore,   state,    438,    440,    447, 

449, 458. 
Travellers,    Asoka's   provision    for, 

182 :    Harsha's   institutions    for, 

344. 
Trichinopoly,  district,  407,  472. 
Trilochanapala,  (1)  Raja  of  Kanauj, 

383,  384  :  (2)  Shahiya  of  Ohind, 

384  n. 
Triparadeisos,    partition     of,     110, 

115. 
Tripura,  Chedi  capital,  390. 
Trivatur    (Tiruvattur),    sculptures 

at,  455. 
Truthfulness,  duty  of,  178. 
Tseh-kia,     kingdom     in      Pan  jab, 

354. 
Tsing,  or  Issyk-kul  lake,  249, 
Tsung-ling,  mountains,  259. 
Tulu  (Tuluva),   country   and   lan- 
guage, 103,  438  ».,  440,  400. 
Tungabhadra,  river,  423,  429,  431, 

407. 
Turfan,  in  Turkestan,  301. 
TurkI  kings  of  Kabul  and  Ohind, 

373,  409. 
Turkomans,      the      Parthians     re- 
_  sembled,  220. 
lurks,  dcstroj'od  Asiatic  empire  of 

the  Huns  :  heirs  of  the  Ephtha- 

lites,  420. 
Turushka,  king,  200  >;.,  317  n. 
Tushaspha,  Asoka's         Persian 

governor.  132. 
Tuticorin,  Portuguese  port,  451. 
Tyriaspes,     satrap     of    the     Paro- 

panisadai,  50,  99. 


508 


INDEX 


Udal)liiln(lapura  =  Ohind,  q.  v.,  00  n. 
Udaipur,  or  Mewar,  415  n.,  420. 
Uilaya,  king,  38,  48. 
Udayagiri,  (1)  hill  in  Orissa,  42  n., 

207  »i.  :  (2)  hill  in  Malwa,  with 

inscription,  327. 
Udayana,  king  of  Vatsa,  39. 
Uddandapura  =  Bihar  town,  398. 
Udhita,  Kaja,  351. 
Udyana  =  Siiwat  (Swat),  SiO  n. 
Ugrabhuti,  grammarian,  382  n. 
Ugrasena,  king  of  Palakka,  284. 
Uhand  =  Ohind,  q.  v.,  60  n. 
Uigur  horde,  362. 
Ujjain,  capital  of  Malw.a,  29,  164  : 

administration    of,    129  :    Asoka 

viceroy  of,    155,   164  :    capital  of 

Chashtana,  217,  218,  291  :    Slla- 

ditva  not  king  of,  325  :  Brahman 

king  of,  325. 
U-k'ong,  Chinese  pilgrim,  25. 
Uma,  goddess,  439. 
Umarkut,  town,  104. 
Und  =  ()hind,  q.  v.,  60  n. 
United  Provinces,  379. 
Unmattavanti,    king    of    Kashmir, 

374. 
Upagupta,   teacher  of  Asoka,    159, 

189. 
Upendra,  Paramara  (Pawar)  chief, 

395. 
Upper  India,   states  of,    389,  392, 

404. 
Uraiyur,  ancient  Chola  capital,  185. 

460,  461. 
Ura^fi  =  Hazara    District,    59,    88, 

168  n.,  354  n. 
Ushkiir-Hushkapura,  271. 
Uttiya,  king  of  Ceylon,  186  n. 
Uvasaga  Dasdo,  cited,  46  ?). 

Vahlka  tribe,  134  »?. 

Vaidyadeva,  minister,  401. 

Vaigai  river,  8. 

Vaikkaiai,  port,  450  n.,  457. 

Vaikuntha  Perumal,  temple,  475. 

Vai4riii  =  Basar  and  Bakhira,  29  n.  : 
Lichdihavi  'clan  at,  32,  279,  366  : 
annexed  by  Magadha,  36,  48 : 
visited  by  Wang-liiuen  t'se,  354. 

Vaishnava,  religion,  183  n, :  philo- 
sopher, Kamaniija,  408. 

Vaii^ravana,  deity,  264. 

Vaii^ya  castes,  134  w.,  408  w. 

Vajheshka,  father  of  Kanishka,  257. 

Vajra,  king,  333. 

Vajradaman,  captured  Gwalior, 
381. 

Vajrayana  sect,  867  n. 


Vajrayudha,  king  of  Kanau],  372> 

378. 
Vakataka  grant,  281  n. 
Vakpatiraja,  poet,  378. 
Vakshu  river  =  Oxus,  264  n. 
Valabhi,  dynasty  of,  324,  325,  327 : 

conquered  by  Harsha,  340,  359. 
Valens,  Roman  emperor,  319. 
Valei-ian,  Roman  emperor,  278. 
Vallabha,  royal  title,  430. 
Vallalasena  =  Ballal  Sen,  q.  v. 
Vamana,  author,  330. 
Vanga  =  Eastern  Bengal,  129  n. 
Vaniyambadi,  beryl  mine  at,  443. 
Vanji      (Vanchi),     ancient     Chera 

capital,  457. 
Varada,  river,  200. 
Var.aguna-varman,     Pandj'a     king, 

454,  475. 
Varahamihira,  astronomer,  305. 
Varahamiila  =Baramula,  q.  v. 
Vardanes  =  Bardanes,  q.  v. 
Vardhamana  =  Mahavira,  q.  r. 
Varendra,  province,  399  n.,  401  n., 

421  n. 
Varna  defined,  134  n.,  408  n. 
Vasavadattd,  play,  39. 
Vfisavl,  mother  of  Ajata^atru,  36  n. 
Vasco  da  Gama  bombarded  Calicut, 

199. 
Vasishka,     Kushan    king,    133    ?!., 

255  n.,  258  «.,  270. 
Va^isbtiputra,   epithet    of  Andhra 

kings,  209-11,  216-8. 
Vasubandhu,  Buddhist  sage,  303  n„ 

308,  328-34. 
Vasudeva    (Vasudeva),    (1)    Kanva 
king,  204  :  (2)  Kushan  kings,  207, 
212,  258  n.,  260  n.,  272,  273,  275, 
278. 
Vasumitra,    (1)   Suiiga    king,    200, 

203  :  (2)  Buddhist  Ieader,^268. 
Vasuiata,  grammarian,  332. 
Vatapi  =  Badami,  Chalukya  capital, 

424-7,  473. 
Vatsa,  perhaps  =  Kaus^ambl,  129  n. 
Vatsaraja,  Gur.jara  king,  398,  428. 
Vatslputra,  Buddhist  leader,  209  n. 
Viitteluttu,  alphabet,  458. 
Vayn  Parana,  date  of,  11,  21-3,  30  n., 

44-6,  Add.  and  Corr. 
Vedavati  river,  148  n. 
Vellala  caste,  470,  476. 
Veliaru,  river,  440,  460. 
Vellura  =  Elura,  q.  v.,  428  n. 
Ven  (Venadu)  =  South  Travancore, 

447,  450,'456. 
Veiigl,  kings  of,  284,  425,  429,  468 : 
country,  471,  472. 


INDEX 


509 


Venkata,  hill,  438,  447. 
Vermin  provided  for,  183. 
Vespasian,  Roman  emperor,  277. 
Vicerovs  of  Maurya  dynasty,  129, 

164." 
Vidarbha  =  13Lrar,  200. 
Vidisa  =  BliiIsa,  199. 
Vigraha-raja,  (1)  Cluuilian,  381  n.  : 

{2 J  Tomara  chief  of  Delhi,  887. 
Vija.va,  Audhra  king,  212. 
Vijayaditya,  Chalukya  kins,  430. 
Vijayalaya,  Cliola  Rfija,  403. 
Vijayauagar,    vast    army   of,     120 : 

kingdom  of,  435. 
Vijayapala,  king  of  Kanauj,  382. 
Vijayasena,   of  Sena  dynasty,    403, 

415,  418. 
V  ijayaskanda- varman ,  Palhi  va 

king,  476  ii. 
Vijjana,  Kalachui-ya  king,  432. 
Vijnane^vara,  jurist,  432. 
Vikrama,  Clioja  king,  408,  476. 
Vikramaditya,    title    of    Cliandra- 

gupta  II,  14,  20,  290 :  of  Chandra- 

gupta   I,   332 :    of  Skaudagupta, 

332     n.  :     of    several     Chalukya 

kings,    427,    436,   437,    454,    463, 

467,  476. 
Vikramaiika,  Chalukya  king,  432. 
Vikramdi'tkadevu-charita,  of  Bilhana, 

18,  432  n. 
Vikramasila  monastery,  398. 
Vilivayakura  I,  II,   Andhra  kings, 

217. 
ViUavar,  tribe,  439. 
Yinayaditya,    (1)  king  of  Kashmir, 

372  :  Chalukya  king,  430. 
Viiidhya  mountains,  0,  163. 
Vindhyan  forests,  337. 
VipSba,  river,  92, 
Vira,  (1)  kings  of  Assam,  419,  422  : 

(2)  a  Pandya  royal  name,  456. 
Vira  Ballala,  Hoysala  king,  434. 
Virarajendra  Chola,  467. 
Virasena,     brother   of  Agnimitra's 

queen,  198  ?i. 
Virudhaka,  37. 
Vi^akha,  deity,  271. 
Vi^akha,  town,  214. 
Vlsaladeva  =  Vigraha-raja  (1'^,  q  .  v., 

387. 
Vishnu   (1)   deity,   292,   340,   470  : 

(2;  Hoysala  king,  434. 
Vishnugopa,  Pallava  king,  284,  471, 

476  n. 
Vishnugupta  =  Chanakya,  q.  v.,  42, 

137  n. 
Vishnu  Parana,  date   of,    11,    21-3, 

Add.  and  Corr. 


V'isluiuvardhana,  Eastern  Chalukya 

king,  426. 
Visvarupasena,  Sena  king,  415. 
Vitasta,  river,  59  ».,  78. 
Vitollius,  Roman  (•mi)eror,  278. 
Vizagapatam,  District,  438. 
VonOnes,  Indo-Parthian  king,  229, 

244. 
Vrihaspati,  Maurya  king,  192. 
Vrishasona,  Maurya  king,  192. 
Vrijjian  confederacy,  29. 
Vultures,  exposure  of  dead  to,  54, 
Vya-hra  Raja,  284. 
Vyath,  river,  78  n. 


Waddell,   Lt.-Col.,  on  Pataliputra, 

121  n. 
Wages  iixed  by  authority,  127. 
Wahindah  =  Hakra,  the  '  lost  river ', 

92,  98,  355,  379,  430. 
Wala  -  Valabhi,  q.  v.,  324. 
VVang-hiuen-t'se,    Chinese     envoy, 

352,  353,  359,  361,  360. 
War,  Asuka  forswears,  157. 
Warda,  river,  200. 
Wardak  vase,  271  n. 
War-office  of  Mauryas,  120  n. 
Water,  king  owner  of,  131  n. 
Water-rate,  132. 
Watters,  On  Yuan  Chicang's  Travels, 

25. 
Wazlrabad,  town,  73  n.,  81. 
Weapons,  Indian,  08,  125. 
Wei  dynasty  of  China,  360  n. 
Weight  of  coins,  254  n.,  257,  311. 
Weights  and  measures,  128, 
Wei-shu,  a  Chinese  work,  130. 
Wells,  constructed  by  Alexander  in 

Sind,  104  :  constructed  by  Asoka, 

182, 
Wen-cheng,   Chinese  princess,  301, 

366, 
West  and  East,  2,  239. 
Western  Ghats,  425. 
Western   Satraps,    145   n.,    209-11, 

217,  218,  261,  290. 
Western  Turks,  317  n.,  320, 
Whipping,  seven  kinds  of,  143. 
White  Huns,  316-22,  327. 
Wima    Kadphises  =  Kadphises    II, 

q.  v.,  252  n. 
Wine,     forbidden,     297  :     Yavana, 

444. 
Wounding,  penalty  for,  130. 
Writing,  art  of,  27,  136,  166. 
Wu-sun,  horde,  248-60. 
Wu-ti,  Chinese  emperors,  (1)  Liang, 

160  :  II,  Han,  277. 


510 


INDEX 


Xandraiucs,  king,  40. 

Xantliippos,  legendary  deacon,  232. 

Xathroi,  tribe,  99. 

Xerxes,  Indian  soldiers  of,  37,  3S  n. 

Yfidava  dynasty,  434,  435. 

Yadu  kingdom,  398. 

Yajna  Sri,  Andhra  king,  211,  212, 

218  (table). 
Yakiib-i-Lais,  Arab  general,  374. 
Yarkaud  (Yarkand),  conquered  by 

Kanishka,    262 :     Mahayana    in, 

264  71. 
Yasahpala,  RiVja  of  Kanauj,  384. 
Yasin  =  Little  Po-lu,  363. 
Y'asodharnian,     Kfija     of     Central 

India,  318,320. 
Yasomati,  queen,  336  n. 
Yasovarman,  (1)  king   of  Kanauj, 

372,  378:    2j  Chandel  king,  391. 
Yaudbeya,  tribe,  286, 
Yavana,  tribe  or  nation,   184,  274, 

398  :    opponents    of    Vasumitra, 

200 :    Menander's    Greeks,    213  : 

=  meaning    of    name,    321  :    = 

Roman    soldiers,     444 :     colony, 

ships,  and  wines,  444. 


Yen-kao.ching=»Kadphises  II,  q.v., 

252  n. 
Yezdigerd,  king  of  Persia,  359. 
Yi-tsing  =  I-tsing,  q.  v.,  26. 
Yoginipura  =  Delhi,  385  n. 
Yuan  C'lnvang  =  Hiuen  Tsaug,  q.  v. 
Yudhishthira,  era  of,  27  n. 
Yue-ai,  embassy  to  China  of,  299  n. 
Y'^ueh-chi,   migrations   and    empire 

of,  248-54,  256,  277  :  Hinduized, 

322,  409. 
Yuga-puiuna,  214  n. 
Yunnan,  recovered  by  China,  360. 
Y''usufzl  country,  50,  57. 
Yuvardja  =  Cvo\sn.  Prince,  467  n. 

Zabulistan  -Ghazni,  363. 
Zain-ul-Akbar,  history,  384  u. 
Zamorins  of  Calicut,  459. 
Zarangoi,  nation,  100  n. 
Zeus,  77  n. 

Zimpi  Taudu,  stupa,  162  n. 
Zoilos,  Indo-Greek  king,  243. 
Zoroastrian   deities,    265    a.,    266 : 

alleged  persecution,  347  w.      See 

Persian. 
Zukur,  village,  260  n. 


ADDITIONS  AND  CORRECTIONS 

Page 

22.  My  summary  of  Mr.  Pargiter's  views,  unfortunately,  is  not  per- 
fectly accurate.  The  followinj^  emendations  are  reciuircd  :  Line  2!>, 
for  ^  Mats-ya  and  ]Y(i/ii^  read  *  JIattii/a,  ]^dya,  and  lirahmdnda^ ; 
line  32,  for  *  and  best '  redd  '  and  in  some  respects  tlie  best '  ; 
line  ^60,  for  '  corrupted '  read  '  corrupted  and  interpolated  ' ;  line  36, 
for  '  only '  read  '  chiefly ' ;  line  42,  dele  *  Sanskrit '.  Page  23,  line  1, 
fw  '  the  compilation  tiien  made  was  enlarged '  read  '  the  first  cer- 
tain compilation  was  made  '. 

31,  n.  1.     For  *  D.  J.  H.'  read  '  Dr.  J.  H.' 

43.  Bhasa,  Dar:§aka,  &c.  See  K.  P.  Jayaswal,  '  The  Plays  of  Bliasa 
and   King   Dar^aka  of  Magadha'   (/.   4    Proc.   A.    S.  B.,   1913, 

Ep.  259-69).  The  author  of  that  paper  believes  that  Bhasa  pro- 
ably  lived  in  the  first  century  b.  c.  He  distinguishes  the  Vatsa 
territory  from  Kau>iambl,  identifies  King  Pradyota.  with  *  the  Maha- 
sena  \  and  discusses  many  other  points. 

'1-3,  117,  196.  Mr.  K.  P.  Jayaswal  argues  that  the  reign  of  Chandra- 
gupta  Maurya  may  have  begun  in  325  h.  c,  as  accepted  by  Jain 
authorities  {J.  ^  Proc  A.  S.  B.,  1913,  pp.  317-23), 

43,  H.  1.  The  same  writer  confirms  the  opinion  that  the  Mudrd-Udkuluisa 
was  composed  earlj^  in  the  fifth  century  a.  c,  during  the  reign  of 
Chandra-gupta  II,  Vikramaditya  ('The  Date  of  the  Mudra-Iiak- 
shasa,  &c.',  Ind.  Ant.,  Oct.  1913,  pp.  265-7), 

50,  n.  2.  *  Babur '  or  '  Babur  \  not  '  Babar ',  is  the  correct  spelling 
(E.  D.  Ross,  J.  ^-  Pror.  A.  S.  B.,  1910,  extra  no.,  p.  iv  . 

76,  n.  3.  The  officer  alluded  to,  Mr.  H.  L.  Shuttleworth,  I.C.S., 
informs  me  by  letter  dated  Feb.  15,  191i,  that  he  has  examined 
the  course  of  the  Bias  for  50  miles  from  the  point  where  it  leaves 
the  hills  to  the  Mukerian  ferry,  and  has  considered  all  possible 
sites  for  the  altars.  Mr.  Shuttleworth,  who  has  not  completed  his 
inquiry,  is  provUsionaUy  of  opinion  that  the  altars  must  have  been 
'  situated  on  the  low  hills  to  the  north  of  the  Bias  between 
Indaura  in  the  N'urpur  Tahsll  of  the  Kangra  District  and  Mirthal 
in  Gurdaspur',  a  position  distant  only  about  20  miles  from  the 
site  conjecturally  indicated  on  the  map  in  this  book,  and  '4  or 
5  miles  from  the  actual  plains  '.  The  Bias  has  been  moving  north 
for  many  years,  and  is  still  cutting  back  into  the  lower  hills.  At 
Indaura  it  probably  was  at  one  time  some  5  miles  to  the  south  of 
its  present  main  channel,  and  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
altars  must  have  been  swept  away  long  ago. 
113.  Mr.  Edwyn  Bevan  has  kindly  drawn  my  attention  to  the  following 
German  publications  on  Alexander's  Indian  campaign,  viz  :  — 

1.  W.  Tomaschek, '  Topographische  Erbiuterung  der  Kiistenfahrt 
Nearchs  vom  Indus  bis  zum  Kuphrat'  {Sitzunga-Ber.  d.  Akad. 
d.  Wissenschaften  {philosoiih.-hist.  Klasse  ,  Wien,  1890,  art.  viii. 
The  author  holds  that  the  Habb  river  (Hab  of  /.  G.).  and  not  the 
Purali,  represents  the  Arabis. 

2.  Max.  Graf  Yorckv.  Wartenburg,  Kurze  Uehers'tvht  der  Feldziige 
Alexanders  des  Grossen,  Berlin,  Mittler  and  Son,  1897.  The  author 
adopts  the  erroneous  theory  that  the  Hydaspes  was  crossed  at 
Jalalpur,  and,  like  the  other  writers  cited  in  this  note,  shows  no 
acquaintance  with  modern  literature  on  the  subject  in  English. 


oV2  ADDITIONS   AND   CORRECTIONS 

PAGE 

His  attempt  to  exhibit  on  a  map  the  courses  of  the  rivers  in  Alex- 
ander's time  is  purely  imaginary,  and  unsupported  by  any  evidence. 

3.  C.  Schubert,  *  Die  Porusschlacht '  {liheinuiches  Museum  fiir 
I'liilolugie,  Band  Ixvi  (1901),  pp.  543-62.  Some  of  the  author's  views 
differ  from  mine.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  serious  advance  of 
knowledge  can  be  secured,  until  people  agree  as  to  the  crossing-place 
and  then  test  the  historian's  accounts  by  prolonged  local  investiga- 
tion. 

4.  Hans  Delbriick,  Ge-^ckirhte  der  Krleqskuiust  u.  a. ,  erstcr  Teil, 
2'«  Auflage  (Stilke,  Berlin,  1908i,  pp.  2li-25.  I  agree  that  Alex- 
ander probably  did  not  bring  100,000  or  120,000  men  across  the 
Hindu  Kush  and  that  most  of  the  statistics  of  armies  in  ancient 
authors  are  untrustviorthy.     See  xupra,  p.  49,  note  1. 

1  have  looked  through  all  the  four  publications  and  do  not  find 
reason  to  alter  my  text.  The  treatise  by  A.  E.  Anspach,  De 
Alexandri  Magni  Expeditionf.  Indica  (Teubner,  Leipzig,  190-2,  1903) 
is  useful  for  critical  annotations  on  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers, 
but  they  are  too  minute  for  me  to  utilize. 

115.     The  dates  in  the  heading  should  be  *322  u.c.  to  273  b.c' 

121,  n.  2;  136,  165,  Excavations  conducted  at  Kumrahar  near  Patna  by 
Dr.  Spooner  of  the  Archaeological  Survey  at  the  cost  of  ]\Ir.  Ilatan 
Tata,  of  Bombay,  have  revealed  remains  of  a  *  Hall  of  100  Pillars  ', 
apparently  copied  from  the  prototype  at  Persepolis.  The  work, 
which  is  still  in  progress,  has  been  partially  described  in  Annual 
Rep.  Arch,  tiiurveij  of  India,  Eastern  Circle,  1912-13,  pp.  55-61, 
and  results  of  profound  interest  are  expected.  Dr.  J.  H.  Marshall 
has  found  a  '  Mauryan  rhaiii/a-ha,\l '  at  SanchT.  Our  knowledge 
of  the  state  of  civilization  in  Maurya  and  pre-Maurya  times  is 
likely  soon  to  be  greatly  extended. 

140,  H.  4.     The  reference  is  to  p.  52  of  the  Memoirs. 

166,  n.  1.     See  ,/.  li.  A.  S.,  1913,  pp.  669-74. 

'206  S.  See  P.  T.  Srinivas  Iyengar,  '  Misconceptions  about  the  Andhras  ' 
(Ind.  Ant.,  Nov.  1913,  pp.  276-8).  The  writer  of  that  essay  argues 
that  the  Andhras  must  have  spoken  Prakrit,  not  Telugu,  and  that 
their  rule  spread  from  west  to  east  down  the  river  valleys,  and  not 
as  stated  in  the  text. 

250,  n.  1.  Baron  A.  von  Stael  Holstein  shows  reason  for  believing  that 
Kusha  (Kusa)  *  was  the  correct  name  of  the  warlike  race  that 
gave  Kani.^ka  to  the  Buddhist  world".  The  forms  transliterated  as 
'Kushan',  &c.,  appear  to  be  genitives  plural  of  the  name  Kusha 
(Kusa).  ^^*Was  there  a  Kusana  Race?'  J.  li.  A.  S.,  Jan.,  1914, 
pp.  79-88.) 

260.  Excavations  at  a  small  town  called  Mat  in  the  Mathura  district 
have  disclosed  the  remarkable  life-size  statue  of  Kanishka  (see 
Plate)  and  two  other  headless  statues  of  kings.  The  name  and 
titles  of  Kanishka  are  inscribed  on  his  skirt  in  plain  script.  The 
detiiils  of  his  dress  and  equipment  are  of  interest,  and  differ  from 
those  shown  on  the  coins.  For  description  of  Mat,  see  Growse, 
Mathura,  3rd  ed.,  1883,  p.  391. 

320,  n.  1  ;  378,  n.  5.     For  '  Bhandharkar '  read  '  Bhandarkar  '. 

335,  n.  1.     For  '  Sthiiint '  read  *  Slhanu  '. 

338,  n.  2,  col.  2.     For  *  spring  of  a.  d.  644  '  read  *  spring  of  a.  u.  643 '. 

371,  I.  14.     For  '  Bakhtiyar  '  read  '  Bakhtyar '. 


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