Geography of Early Buddhism
Bimala Churn Law's work on the geography of the early Buddhist texts.
Middle Country - 99 of India.
According to the Sigāla Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. I, p. 502) she flowed by the city of Bārāṇasī. There is a confluence [37] between this river and Yamunā (Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, II, p. 652).Gaggarā pokkharaṇī: From the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī (pt. I, p. 279) we learn that the Buddha taught the people of Campā the dhamma on the bank of Gaggarātank. We are told that it was dug by the queen Gaggarā, and was not far off from the city of Campā. Hiraññavatī :The Sālavana of the Mallas of Kusīnārā was on the bank of the river Hiraññavatī (DN., II, p. 137).
The Hiraññavatī is the Little Gandak and the same as Ajitavatī near Kusīnārā or Kusīnagara. It flows through the district of Gorakhpur about eight miles west of the Great Gandak and falls into the Gogrā (Sarayū). Jetavanaloka: It is mentioned in the Samuddavānija Jātaka (Jāt., IV, p. 158) as a tank, but it has not yet been identified. Kebuka: The Kākāti Jātaka (Jāt., III, p. 91) states Kebuka to be a river; but itis difficult to identify it. Kosikī : The Kiṁchanda Jātaka (Jāt, Vol. V, p. 2) refers to Kosikī as abranch of the Ganges. It is identical with the river Kusi.
Middle Country - 100 Ketumatī:I
t is stated in the Vessantara Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. VI, p. 518) that the King Vessantara with his wife and children proceeded to Gandhamādana. Then setting his face northward he passed by the foot of Mount Vipula and rested on the bank of the river Ketumatī . He crossed the stream and then went on to the hill called Nālika . Still moving northward he reached the lake Mucalinda . Kakuttha :While going to Kusīnārā from Rājagaha, the Buddha had to cross the river Kakutthā. Having crossed the river he arrived at Amhavana and then proceeded to the Malla’s Sāla grove near Kusīnārā . Kakutthā is the small stream Barhi which falls into the Chota Gaṇḍak, eight miles below Kasia .
Carlleyle has identified it with the river Ghāgī, one and half miles to the west of Chitiya on in the Gorakhpur district. Lassen identifies Kakanthis of Arrian with the river Bāgmati of Nepal . Kaddama-daha : Kaddama-daha, a river on the bank of which Mahākaccāna once took up his residence for some time, has been mentioned in the Aṅguttarā Nikāya (Vol. I, p. 65).Kimikālā: In the Aṅguttara Nikāya (Vol. IV, p. 354) we are told that once while the Buddha was staying at Cālikā on the Cālikā pabbata the venerable Meghiya sought the permission of the Buddha to go to
Middle Country - 101 Jantugāma.
While returning from the village after his meal here ached Kimikālā . Kuṇāla :[38] It has been described as a lake in the Kunāla Jātaka (Jāt., V, p.419; AN., IV, p. 101) but has not yet been identified.Kaṇṇamuṇḍā : Kaṇṇamuṇḍā has been described in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN., IV,p. 101) as a river, but has not yet been identified. Khema : Khema, a lake that was excavated by the King of Benares named Bahuputtaka (Haṁsa Jātaka, Jāt., IV, p. 424).
Mānusiya :A lotus lake near the city of Sakula in the kingdom of Manusiya Mahiṁsaka (Cullahaṁsa Jātaka, Jāt, V, p. 337) which, however, is difficult to be identified. Maṅgalapokkharaṇī : Maṅgalapokkharaṇī has been described in the Atthasālinī (p. 33)that while he was sitting on the bank of the Maṅgalapokkharaṇī,the Buddha got the news of Rāhula’s death.Once the Buddha dwelt at Vaisālī in the Kūṭāgārasālā on the bank of the lake Markaṭa (Dvd., p. 200).
Middle Country - 102Mahī:Mahī, one of the five great rivers (AN., IV, p. 101; Milindapañha, p.114; S. Nip., p. 3) mentioned in Pāli literature.
The river Mahī is atributary of the Gaṇḍaka . Migasammatā : The Migasammatā, a river, had its source in the Himavanta and had fallen in the Ganges (cf. ‘Himavanta to Gaṅgaṁ pattā, Jāt., VI, p.72). Rathakāra : Rathakāra has been described as a lake in the Aṅguttara Nikāya(Vol. IV, p. 101). Rohanta : The Rohanta-Miga-Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. IV, p. 413) describes Rohanta as a lake which however has not been identified. Rohiṇī : Rohiṇī has been referred to in the Jātakas (Rukkhadhamma Jātaka,Jāt., Vol. I, p. 327; Phandana Jātaka, Jāt., Vol. IV, p. 207) as a river.
Once a quarrel broke out among the Sākiyas and the Koliyas regarding the possession of the river Rohiṇī. But the Buddha succeeded in restoring peace among his kinsfolk. Rohiṇī formed the boundary between the Śākya and the Koliya countries . Sappinī : Sappinī, a river, in Rājagaha (SN, I, p. 153). In the Aṅguttara Nikāya (Vol. II, p. 29) we are told that the Buddha once went from the Gijjhakūṭa mountain at Rājagaha to the bank of the river
Middle Country - 103 Sappinī to meet some wanderers.
The Pañchāna river is perhaps the ancient Sappinī . Sutanu:[39] The Saṁyutta Nikāya (Vol. V, p. 297) describes Sutanu as a river on whose bank Anuruddha stayed for once. Mandākinī : Mandākinī, a river (AN., IV, p. 101). It is the Kāligaṅgā or the western Kāli or Mandāgni, which rises in the mountains of Kedārain Gharwal. It is a tributary of Alakānandā . Cunningham, however, identifies it with Mandākin, a small tributary of Paisundi in Bundelkhand which flows by the side of Mount Chitrakūta .
Nerañjarā : After the attainment of the Perfect Enlightenment the Buddha dwelt at Uruvelā in the Ajapāla Nigrodha on the bank of the river Nerañjarā. It is the river Phalgu mentioned in Asvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita. Its two branches are the Nilājanā and the Mohanā,and their united stream is called Phalgu. Buddha Gayā is situated at a short distance to the west of the Nilājanā or Nirañjanā which has its source near Simeria in the district of Hazaribagh . Satadru :It is said that the Kinnarī Manoharā, wife of Prince Sudhanu who was the son of Suvāhu, King of Hastināpura, while going to the Himalayas, crossed the river Satadru and proceeded to the Mount
Middle Country - 104Kailash (A Study of the Mahāvastu, p. 118). Satadru is modern Sutlej, a tributary of the Ganges . Sundarikā :
Sundarikā has been described in the Saṁyutta Nikāya (Vol. I, p.167) as a river in Kosala . Sumāgadhā :A tank near Rājagaha (Saṁyutta, Vol. V; p. 447). Simbalī :It is mentioned in the Kākāti Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. III, p. 90) as a lake.Sarabhū:The Milindapañho (p. 114) refers to Sarabhū as a river issuing forth from the Himavanta. It is Ghagra or Gogra, a tributary of the Ganges on which stood the city of Ayojjhā.It is the Sarabos of Ptolemy, and is one of the five great rivers mentioned in early Pāli literature.Sarassatī:
Sarassatī is evidently the Sanskrit Sarasvati mentioned in Vedic and Brahmanical literature. According to the Brāhmaṇas, the Kāvyamīmāṁsa and Manu Saṁhitā, it formed the western boundary of the Brahmanical Madhyadeśa. According to the Milindapañho (p. 114) the Sarassatī issued forth from the Himavanta. It rises in the hills of Sirmur in the Himalayan range called the Sewalik and emerges into the plains at Ād Badri inA mbala. Like the Ganges, the river Sarassatī or Sarasvatī is considered as sacred by the Hindus.
Middle Country - 105 Ūhā:[40]
The river Ūhā was in the Himavanta (Milindapañho, p. 70).Vidhavā : Vidhavā, a river in the Himavanta (cf. ‘Anto Himavante’; Jāt., Vol.III, p. 467).Vetravatī or Vettavatī : Vetravatī, a river, is mentioned in the Milindapañho (p. 114). From the Mātaṅga Jātaka (Jāt, Vol. IV, p. 388) we know that the city of Vettavatī was on the banks of the river of that name. It is the river Betwa in the kingdom of Bhopal, an affluent of the Jumnā, on which stands Bhilsā or the ancient Vidisā . Vetaraṇī:
The river Vetaraṇī is referred to in the Saṁyutta (Vol. I, p. 21)where it is stated to be the river Yama (cf. Yamassa Vetaraṇiṁ).The Buddhist tradition, therefore, seems to support the Brahmanical tradition of the Vaitaraṇī being the Yama’s river.In this river the hellish creatures suffer (cf. Jāt., V, p. 276). It is the river Vaitaraṇī in Orissa and is mentioned in the Mahābhārata( Vana P. Chap. 113) as being situated in Kāliṅga.It is again identified with the river Dantura which rises near Nāsikand is in the north of Bassein.This sacred river is said to have been brought down to the earth by Parasurāma (Padma and Matsya Purāṇas).
Middle Country - 106 According to the Mahābhārata (Vana P. Chap. 83) it is a river in Kurukshetra.
It is further identified with a river in Gharwal on the road between Kedara and Badrinātha . Yamunā : Yamunā is one of the five great rivers mentioned in early Pāli literature (AN., IV, p. 101; SN., Vol. II, p. 135; Vol. V, pp. 401, 460,461). It is the modern Jumna .Mountains, Hills, Caves, etc. Ahogaṅga Pabbata : The Ahogaṅga-pabbata is a mountain in India. It is said that the venerable Moggaliputta Tissa Thera, having made over his disciples to the thera Mahinda, went to the Ahogaṅgā mountain near the source of the Ganges (Mv, p. 51). Arañjarā :The Sarabhaṅga Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. V, p. 134) refers to the Arañjara which seems to be a chain of mountains in the Central Provinces.Anoma and Asoka:The Anoma and Asoka mountains do not seem from their descritionin the Apadāna (pp. 345 and 342 rgspectively), to have been far off from the Himavanta .Cittakūṭa:According to the Apadāna (p. 50), the Cittakūṭa mountain was not also very far off from the Himavanta. It has, however, been
Middle Country - 107identified with Kāmptanāth-giri in Bundelkhand.
It in an isolated hill on a river called the Paisunī or Mandākinī. [41] It is about four miles from the Chitrakuūṭa station of the G.I.P. Railway.Cāvala:The Cāvala mountain has been described in the Apadāna to be not far off from the Himavanta (Apadāna, p. 451).Cittala :W e find mention of the Cittala mountain not only in the Atthasālinī(p. 350), but also in the Visuddhimagga (p. 29:2). In the latter there is also a reference to a vihāra on it. Cetiya :The Atthasālinī also refers to the Cetiya Pabbata (p. 200) which,however, is dfficult to be identified. Corapapāta :According to the reference in the Dīgha Nikāya, (Vol. ll, p. 116) the Corapapāta seems to have been a hill near Rājagaha. Daṇḍakahirañña pabbata :This mountain seerns to have been located in the Himavantapadesa(Jāt., Vol. II, p. 33).Gandhamādana:In the Gaṅgamāla Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. III, p. 452) we are told that a certain ascetic came from the mountain Gandhamādana to Benares to see the king. It is a part of the Rudra Himalaya, but according tothe epic writers it forms a part of the Kailāsa range.
Middle Country - 108 Gayā-śīrṣa :
The Gayāśīrṣa mountain is situated at Gayā from where the Gotama Buddha went to Uruvilva for the attainment of Perfect Enlightenment (A Study of the Mahāvastu, p. 81.)Gotama:According to the description given in the Apadāna (p. 162) the Gotama mountain seems to be not far off from the Himavanta. Gijjhakūṭa : Gijjhakūṭa is a mountain in Magadha (VV.C., p. 82). It is so called because its peak is like a vulture (Papañcasudanī, II, 63).According to Cunningham it is a part of the Śailagiri, the vulture peak of Fahien and Indasilāguhā of Yuan Chwang. It lies two miles and a half to the south-east of new Rājgir. It is also called Giriyekhill.
Himavanta:In the Aṅguttara Nikāya the Himavanta is mentioned as the Pabbatarāja (AN, I, p. 152).We are told in the Kunāla Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. V, pp. 412 foll.) that once there broke out a quarrel between the Koliyas and the Sakiyas regarding the possession of the river Rohiṇī which flows between the Sākiya and Koliya countries. Buddha, however, succeeded insettling the dispute. Many Koliya and Sakiya people were ordained.But spiritual discontent sprang up among them. The Blessed one conducted these brethren to the Himalayas and after illustrating the sins connected with woman-kind by the Kunāla [42] story, and
Middle Country - 109 removing their discontent, bestowed upon them the stage of sanctification.
The Master transported them to the Himalayas and standing in the sky pointed out to them in a pleasant tract of the Himalayas various mountains: Golden mount, Jewel mount, Vermillion mount, Collyaium mount, Table land mount, Crystal mount, and five great rivers, and the seven lakes, Kaṇṇamuṇḍaka, Rathakāra,Sīhappapāta, Chaddanta, Tiyaggala, Anotatta, and Kunāla.In the Milindapañho (p. 114) it is stated that 500 rivers issued forth from the Himavanta and that of these ten are important. They are:Gaṅga, Yamunā, Aciravatī, Sarabhū, Mahī, Sindhu, Sarassatī,Vetravatī, Vitaṁsā and Candabhāga . Indasāla Cave:
It is stated in the Dīgha N., (Vol. II, pp. 263–4, 269) that to the east of Rājagaha was the Brahmin village of Ambasaṇḍā. To the north of ppAmbasaṇḍā[[ the Indasāla Cave in the Vediyakapabbata which however seems to be the same as the Gijjhakūṭapabbata.In the Barhut inscriptions, the name of the cave is however given as Indasālaguhā which has been identified with the Giriyek hill sixmiles from Rājgir.Indakūṭa:Indakūṭa is near Rājagaha (SN., I, p. 206).
Middle Country - 110 Isigilipassa : It is near Rājagaha.
It is one of the groups of hills above Rājagaha,namely, Gijjhakūṭa, Vebhāra, Pāṇḍava and Vepulla.Kukkura, Kosika, and Kadamba:These pabbatas are stated in the Apadāna (pp. 155, 381 and 382respectively) to be not very far off from the Himavanta.Kālāgiri:The Kālāgiri is mentioned in the Vidhura Paṇḍita Jātaka (Jāt., Vol.VI, p. 302). This Kālāgiri is the same as the Kāḷapabbata mentioned in the same Jātaka. Kuraraghara :The Kuraraghara pabbata is in Avanti. Mahākaccāna once dwelt inthis mountain (AN., V, p. 45).Kālasilā : Kālasilā is at Rājagaha (DN., II, p. 116).Manosilā : Manosilā, a mountain (Kumbhakāra Jātaka, Jāt, III, p. 319).Manipabbata:It is in the Himavanta (Jāt., Vol. II, p. 92).Mahākāla:It is a mountain in the Himavanta (Jāt.,Vol.V, p. 38).
Middle Country - 111 Meru :
It is referred to in the Therīgāthā Commentary (p. 150), and is identical with the Rudra Himālaya in Gharwal where the river Ganges takes its rise. It is near the Badarikā Āśram, and is probably the Mount Meros of Arrian. Nerupabbata:[43] The Nerupabbata is in the Himavanta (Milindapañho, p. 129).In the Neru Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. III, 247), it is called the Golden mountain. Pācīnavaṁsa:It is a legendary name of Mount Vepulla (SN., II, pp.190–1).Pipphaliguhā pabbata:
It is at Rājagaha. According to the Saṁyutta Nikāya (Vol. V, p. 79)thera Mahākassapa resided in the Pipphaliguhā pabbata.Paṇḍavapabbata is mentioned in the Atthasālinī (p. 34).Phalika, and Rajatapabbata:All these mountains are in the Himavanta probably meaning thereby that they are names of different parts or peaks of the great Himalaya mountain (Jāt., V, 415 Jāt., II, p. 6 respectively).Sattapaṇṇiguhā:The First Buddhist Council was held at Rājagaha in the Sattapaṇṇi cave of the Vebhāra pabbata under the presidency of Mahākassapaand under the patronage of Ajātasattu (Samantapāsādikā, p. 10).
Middle Country - 112 Suvaṇṇaguhā :
It is in the Cittakūṭapabbata which is in the Himavanta padesa (Jāt.,Vol. III, p. 208).Suvaṇṇapabbata and Sānupabbata:Both are mentioned in the Jātakas (Jāt., Vol. II, p. 92 and Jāt., Vol.V, p. 415) to be in the Himavantapadesa.Sineru:In the Dhammapada Commentary (Vol. I, p. 107) we are told thatthe Mount Sineru was sixty-eight thousand leagues high. It isdescribed as a mountain in the Kulāvaka Jātaka (Jāt, Vol. I, p. 202)as well.Setapabbata:It is in the Himalayas (SN., I, p. 67) to the east of Tibet.Suṁsumārāgiri:The Saṁyutta Nikāya (Vol. III, p. 1) seems to locate it in theBhagga country.Sappasoṇḍikapabhāra:It is at Rājagaha (DN., 11, p. 116).Vepulla:This is a mountain in Magadha.
Middle Country - 113 Vebhāra :
Vebhāra is a mountain in the Magadha country. In the Vimānavatthu Commentary (p. 82) we are told that the city of Giribbaja was encircled by the mountains Isigili, Vepulla, Vebhāra,Paṇḍara and Gijjhakūṭa.Vedisagiri:In the Samantapāsādikā (p. 70) we are told that Mahinda who wasentrusted with the work of propagating Buddhism in Ceylon, incourse of his journey from Pāṭaliputta, halted at the Dakkhiṇagirijanapada (Vedisā), the capital of which was Ujjenī. He stayed at the Vedisagiri Mahāvihāra which was built by his mother and thence hewent Tambaṇṇi.Parks, Forests and Jungles Ambavana:[44]
In the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. I, pp. 47, 49) we are told that once the Buddha dwelt at Rājagaha in the Ambavana of Jīvaka, the royal physician. It was here that Ajātasattu, the king of Magadha, came tosee the Buddha.In the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. II, p. 134) we are told in connection withthe Buddha’s journey from Rājagaha to Kusīnārā that the Buddha crossed the river Kakutthā and went to the Ambavana.In the Saṁyutta (Vol. IV, p. 121) we are informed that once the venerable Udāyin stayed at Kāmaṇḍā in the Ambavana of the brahmin Todeyya . Ambavana is a thicket of mango trees (Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, II, 399).
Middle Country - 114 Ambapālivana :
In the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. II, p. 94) we find that the Buddha oncewent from Nādikā to Vesālī and dwelt in the Ambapālivana in Vesālī. This park was a gift from the courtesan named Ambapāli. Ambapālivana :The Ambāṭakavana is mentioned in the Saṁyutta Nikāya (Vol. IV,p. 285). It is stated that many bhikkhus dwelt at Macchikāvanasaṇḍa in the Ambāṭakavana. Citta, the householder, it is said, invited themto his house and had many philosophical discussions with them.Anupiya-Ambavana:The Anupiya-Ambavana was in the Mallaraṭṭha (Manorathapūranī,p. 274).Añjanavana (Añcanavana):The Buddha once dwelt in the Deer Park in the Añjanavana at Sāketa (SN., I, p. 54; V, pp. 219, 73).Andhavana:The Andhavana is referred to as located in Sāvatthī (SN., V., p.302).Daṇḍakarañña:It is mentioned in the Milindapañho (p. 130). According to Mr.Pargiter, it comprised all the forests from Bundelkhand to the river Kriṣṇā. The Daṇḍakarañña along with the Viñjjhas thus practicallyseparated the Majjhimadesa from the Dakkhiṇāpatha.
Middle Country - 115 Icchānaṅgalavanasaṇḍa :
The Buddha once stayed at the Brāhmaṇagala in the Icchānaṅgala-vanasaṇḍa. This is in Kosala (AN., III, pp. 30, 341; IV, p. 340). It isalso mentioned in the Sutta Nipāta (p. 115).Jetavana: The Jetavana is frequently mentioned in Pāli literature. In the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. I, p. 178) we are told that once the Buddha dwelt at Jetavana in the pleasure garden of Anāthapiṇḍika at Sāvatthī. There the Buddha spoke on the subject of right training to Poṭṭhapāda, the wanderer. The Jetavana is one mile to the south of Sāvatthī which is identified with modern Sahet-Maheth. It was agift from the merchant named Anāthapiṇḍika to the Buddha and the Order . Jātiyavana:[45] It is in the country of the Bhaddiyas (Aṅguttara, Vol. III, p.
36).Kappāsiyavanasaṇḍa:In the Manorathapūraṇī (p. 100), we are told that the Buddha converted the Tiṁsa Bhadda vaggiya-bhikkhus at Kappāsiyavanasanda . Ketakavana :The Ketakavana is in Kosala near the village of Naḷakapāna (Naḷapāna Jātaka, Jāt, Vol. I, 170).
Middle Country - 116 Kalandakanivāpa :
It is at Rājagaha (AN., II, pp. 35, 172, 179; III, p. 35; IV, p. 402). Inthe Majjhima Nikāya (Vol, III, p. 128) we are told that once the Buddha dwelt in the Kalandakanivāpa at Veluvana in Rājagaha . Laṭṭhivana : In the Monorathapūraṇī (p. 100) it is said that at Laṭṭhivana King Bimbisāra was converted by the Buddha. It is about two miles north of Tapovana in the district of Gayā. Lumbinivana:The Lumbinivana is referred to in the Buddhacarita (I, Verse 23;XVII, Verse 27) as situated in Kapilavatthu which is the birth placeof the Buddha. Lumbinī is Rumminideī in the Nepalese Terai, 2miles to the north of Bhagavanpur and about a mile to the north of Paderia. Mejjhāraññaṁ and Mātaṅgaraññaṁ:These two forests are mentioned in the Milindapañho (p. 130).Makkaraṭṭha:It is a forest in Avanti. Mahākaccāna resided there in a leaf-hut(SN., IV, p. 116).Mahāvana:It is at Kapilavatthu (SN., I, p. 26). According to Buddhaghosa, it isa natural forest outside the town of Vaisālī lying in one stretch upto the Himalayas. It is so called on account of the large areacovered by it (Smv., I, 309; cf. SN., I, pp. 29–30).
Middle Country - 117 Madda-Kucchimigadāya :
It is at Rājagaha (SN., 1, p. 27).Mora Nivāpa:The Buddha once went from the Gijjhakūṭa to the Mora Nivāpawhich was on the bank of Sumāgadhā (AN., I, p. 291).Nandanavana:In the Visuddhimagga, the Nandanavana, the Missakavana and the Phārusakavana are all referred to (p. 424).Nāgavana:It is in the Vajji countries and is near Hatthigāma (AN., IV, p. 213).Pāvārikambana :Once the Buddha lived in the Pāvārikambana at Nālandā. There he spoke on the subject of miracles to Kevaḍḍha, the son of a householder (DN., I, p. 211).ppBhesakaḷāvana[[:[46] Once the Buddha stayed at ppBhesakaḷāvana[[ Migadāya in the Suṁsumāragiri of the Bhaggas (AN., Vol. II, p. 61; III, p. 295; IV,pp. 85, 228, 232 and 268).Siṁsapāvana:Once the venerable Kumāra Kassapa with a company of the bhikkhus went to Setavya in the Kosala country. He dwelt in the Siṁsapāvana to the north of Setavya (DN., II, p. 316). There is a Siṁsapāvana in Kosambī (SN., Vol. V, p. 437).
Middle Country - 118 There is also another Siṁsapāvana near Āḷavī (AN., Vol. I, p. 136).
Sītavana :It is at Rājagaha (SN., I, pp. 210–212).Upavattana Sālavana:It is in the Malla territory. It was here that the Buddha attained the Mahāparinibbāna (DN., II, p. 169).Veluvana:It is at Rājagaha (SN., I, P. 52).Veḷukaṇṭaka:It is in Dakkhiṇagiri (AN., IV, p. 64:).Viñjhāṭavi :There is a reference to the Vindhya forest in the Dīpavaṁsa (15,87). Ariṭṭha, one of the ministers of Devanāmpiyatissa, who had been sent by the Ceylonese King to Asoka, King of Magadha, for a branch of the Bodhi Tree, had to go through the Vindhya forest while going to Pāṭaliputra .Viñjhāṭavi comprises portions of Khandesh and Auraṅgabad, whichlie on the south of the western extremity of the Vindhya range,including Nasik. The forest, therefore, should, strictly speaking, belocated in the Dakkhiṇāpatha.
Middle Country - 119 Cetiyas, Ārāmas, Vihāras, etc. Aggāḷava :
The Aggāḷava temple is referred to in the Tipallattha Miga Jātaka(Jāt., Vol. I, 160).Asokārāma:The third Buddhist Council was held at Pāṭaliputta in theAsokārāma at the time of King Asoka (Samantapāsādikā, p. 48).Badarikārāma:It is in Kosambī (Tipallattha Miga Jātaka (Jāt, Vol. I, 160).Bahuputta : Bahuputta, a Cetiya in Vesālī (DN., II, p. 118).Cāpāla Cetiya:In the Saṁyutta Nikāya (Vol. V, pp. 259–60) we find the Buddha speaking of three beautiful Cetiyas of Vesālī (AN., IV, p. 309), e.g.,the Cāpāla Cetiya (named after a Yakkha of this name), the Sattamba Cetiya. (DN., II, 118) and the Sārandada Cetiya (named after a Yakkha of this name).Gotama and other Cetiyas of Vesālī:The Buddha speaks very highly of the Cetiyas of Vesālī. They are:Udena, Gotamaka, Sattamba, Bahuputta, Sārandada and Cāpāla(DN., II, p. 118; AN., Vol. IV, p. 309).In the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. III, pp. 9, 10) we are told that to the eastof Vesālī was the Udena Cetiya, to the south was the Gotamaka
Middle Country - 120 Cetiya , [47] to the west was the Sattamba Cetiya, and to the north was the Bahuputta Cetiya . Ghositārāma :
It was at Kosambī (DN., I, pp. 157, 159; SN.,1II, p. 115). A monastery built by a banker named Ghosita is called Ghositārāma (Papañcasūdanī, II, p. 390).Giñjakāvasatha:It was at Nadikā near Pāṭaliputta (AN., III, pp. 303, 306; IV, p. 316;V, p. 322).Kassapakārāma:It was at Rājagaha (SN., III, p. 124).Kukkuṭārāma:It was at Pāṭaliputta (SN., V, pp. 15, 17, 171, and 173).Kuṭāgārasālā:It was at Vesālī (SN., I, p. 29).Kālakārāma: The Kālakārāma was in Sāketa. We are told that once when the Buddha was dwelling at the Kālakāvana in Sāketa, he spoke ofsome qualities that were possessed by him.Markaṭa-hradatiracetiya : There is a reference to a Cetiya on the bank of the Markaṭa-hrada where the Buddha once stayed (A Study of the Mahāvastu, p. 44).
Middle Country - 121 Nigrodhārāma:
It was at Rājagaha (DN., II, p, 116).Pubbārāma :
Once the Buddha dwelt in the palace of Migāramātā in the Pubbārāma at Sāvatthī. It was here that Aggañña Suttanta was delivered by the Buddha (DN., III, p. 80).Paribbājakārāma:It was at Rājagaha (SN, ll, p. 33).Salaḷāgāra :It was at Sāvatthī. Anuruddha is said to have resided there (SN., V,p. 300).Tulādhārapabbata Vihāra :It is referred to in the Visuddhimagga (p. 96); and it was in this Vihāra that the Mahādhammarakkhita thera lived.
It was situatedin the Rohana Janapada which was on the other side of the Ganges. Vālukārāma:In the Samantapāsādikā (pp. 33–34) we find that the Vajjiputtaka bhikkhus of Vesālī declared the ten Indulgences. This led to the inauguration of the Second Buddhist Council which was held duringthe reign of Kalāsoka at Vesālī in the Vālukārāma.Mahāvana vihāra:It was a monastery in the ancient Vajji country (Mv., p. 24). It isalso mentioned by Fahien in his travels.
Middle Country - 122Dakkhiṇagiri vihāra:It was a vihira in Ujjenī (Mv., p. 228)Jetavana vihāra:It was a vihāra near Savatthi in the Kosala country where the Bmldlia lived for some time (Dv., p. 21; Mv., p. 7).
123 Chapter II: The Uttarāpatha or Northern India Boundaries:[48]
Nowhere in Brahmanical or Buddhist literature is mentioned the four boundaries of the Uttarāpatha. According to the Brahmanical tradition as recorded in the Kāvyamīmāṁsā (p. 93),the Uttarāpatha or Northern India lay to the other, i.e., the western side of Prithudaka (Prithudakāt parataḥ Uttarāpathaḥ) or Pehoa, about 14 miles west of Thāneswar . Other Brahmanical sources, e.g., the Dharmasūtras of Vaśiṣṭha , Baudhāyana and Manu, purport to furnish practically the same evidence, i.e., the Uttarāpatha lies to the west of the place where the Saraswatī disappears.But our knowledge of the eastern boundary of Uttarāpatha is derived only in connection with the boundaries of the Madhyadeśaas given in the texts referred to above.
There is nowhere any independent evidence of the boundaries of Uttarāpatha as such.It is interesting to note that the Brahmanical definition of Āryāvarta excludes the greater portion of the land of the Rigvedic Aryans, which, however, is included in the Uttarāpatha. Thus theentire Indus valley which was the cradle of the Rgvedic culture and civilization is practically outside the pale of Manu’s Madhyadeśa or Baudhāyana’s Āryāvarta, but is included in Uttarāpatha according to the Kāvyamīmāṁsā.
Northern India - 124The Buddhist northern division is also to be located, as in Brahmanical texts, to the west of the Brahman district of Thūna (Sthūna) or Thaneswar as recorded in the Mahāvagga and the Divyāvadāna. There too the boundaries of Uttarāpatha as such are not recorded; its eastern boundary alone can be derived from the western boundary of the Majjhimadesa.There are numerous references to Uttarāpatha in Pāli literature. In the Hāthigumphā inscription of King Khāravela, we are told that King Khāravela was able to strike terror into the heart of the King of Uttarāpatha. He compelled King Bahasatimita of Magadha to bow down at his feet.
Khāravela’s Uttarāpatha probably signifies the region including Mathurā in its south-eastern extension up to Magadha.From the prologue of Book V of the Suttanipāta (p. 190), it appears the Dakkhiṇāpatha lent its name to the region through which it passed – the whole tract of land lying to the south of the Gangesand to the north of Godāvarī being known, according to Buddhaghosa, as Dakkhiṇāpatha, or the Deccan proper (VT.,Mahāvagga, V, 13; Cullavagga, I, 18, p. 362).Uttarāpatha too may supposed to have been originally a great [49]trade route – the northern high road, so to speak, which extended from Sāvatthī to Takkasīlā in Gāndhāra, and have lent, preciselylike the southern high road, its name to the region through which itpassed, i.e., the region covering, broadly speaking, the north-western part of the United Provinces, and the whole of the Punjab and the North-western Frontier Provinces. But this definition of
Northern India - 125 Uttarāpatha is nowhere explicitly stated in Pāli literature. It is,therefore, not at all improbable that Uttarāpatha in Pāli literature might have also signifled the same region, i.e., the entire northern India from Aṅga in the east to Gandhāra in the north-west and from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyās in the south asunder stood by its later and wider sense (i.e., the whole of Āryāvarta), e.g., in the Cālukya inscriptions of the 7th and 8 th centuries A.D.
Bānabhaṭṭa, the author of Harsha-Carita, however, uses the word Uttarāpatha in its narrower sense and seems to include within theregion so named the western part of U.P., the Punjab and the North-western Frontier Provinces. According to Chinese Buddhist writers, northern India ‘comprised the Punjab proper including Kashmīr and the adjoining hill states with the whole of eastern Afganisthan beyond the Indus, and the present Cis-satlej States to the west of the Saraswatī river’ (CAGI, p. 13).Two Mahājanapadas(i) Gandhāra:In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Gandhāra is included in the list of the sixteen Mahājanapadas (AN., 1., p. 213; IV, pp. 252, 256, 260). The Gandhāras were a very ancient people.
Northern India - 126Their capital Takshasīlā is also mentioned in the Mahābhārata in connection with the story of King Jātamejaya who is said to have conquered it.57The kingdom of Gandhāra included Kashmīr and the Takshasīlā region (PHAI., p. 93)58 Gandhāra comprises the districts of Peshawar and Rawalpindi in the northern Punjab as we find in the Mahāvaṁsa (Geiger’s tr., p.82, n. 2) wherein it is stated that after the dissolution of the Third Buddhist Council, Moggaliputtatissa thera sent Majjhantika thera to Kāsmīra-Gandhāra for propagation of the Buddhist faith .59 Gandhāra thus comprised the whole [50] of the districts of Peshawar and Rawalpindi in the northern Punjab.
Takkasīlā or Taxila was the capital city of the Gandhāra kingdom,and according to the Jātakas (Telapatta Jātaka, 96, Susīma Jātaka,163) it lay 2,000 leagues from Benares.57 ‘The Purāṇas represent the Gandhāra kings as the descendants of Druhyu (Matsya, 48. 6; Vāyu, 99. 9). This king and his people are mentioned several times in the Ṛgveda. In the Vedic Index (I, 385) it is stated that from the tribal grouping it is probable that the Druhyus were a north-western people. Thus the Puranic tradition about the connection of the Gandhāras with Druhyu accords with Vedic evidence.’ (PHAI., 93.)58 We find it otherwise in Jāt., III, 365.59 Dr. Raichaudhuri points out (PHAI., p. 93) that the inclusion of Kāshmīr in tho Gandhāra kingdom is confirmed by the evidence of Hekataios of Miletos (B.C. 549–486) who refers to Kaspapyros = Kaśyapapura, i.e., Kashmīr (cf. Rājataraṅginī, I, 27) as is Gandharic city.
Northern India - 127In the time of Nimi, King of Videha, Durmukha, King of Pañchāla.and Bhīma, King of Vidarbha, the throne of Gandhāra wasoccupied by Naggaji or Nagnajit (Kumbhakāra Jātaka; Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VII, 34; Sat. Brāhmaṇa , VIII, 14.10).60In the Kumbhakāra Jātaka we are told that Naggaji’s capital was Takkasīlā.The Jātakas testify to the evidence of trade relations between the Kashmīr-Gandhāra kingdom and Videha (Jāt., III, pp. 363–369).In the Niddesa we are told (P.T.S., Vol. I, p. 154) that in Taxila people used to flock in the wake of trade and commerce to earn money.The king ruling in Gandhāra contemporaneously with King Bimbisāra of Magadha was Pukkusāti who is said to have sent anembassy and a letter to his Magadhan contemporary as a mark offriendship. He is also said to have waged a war on King Pradyota of Avanti who was defeated.The Behistun inscription of Darius (C. 516 B.C.) purports to recordthat Gadara or Gandhāra was one of the kingdoms subject to the Persian Empire; it, there fore, appears that some time in the latter half of the 6th century B.C., the Gandhāra kingdom was conqueredby the Achaemenid kings. In the time of Asoka, however, Gandhāra formed a part of the empire of the great Buddhist Emperor; the60 PHAI, p. 93.
Northern India - 128 Gandhāras whose capital was Takkasīlā are mentioned in his Rock Edict V.(ii) Kamboja : Kamboja is mentioned along with Gandhāra in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (I, p. 213; Ibid., IV, pp. 252, 256, 261) as one of the sixteengreat countries of India. In the Paramatthadīpanī on the Petavatthu(P.T.S., p. 113) Dvārakā occurs along with Kamboja. But it is notexpressly stated if Dvārakā was the capital of the Kamboja country.Dvārakā, in fact, was not really a city of Kamboja; nowhere inearly or later Pāli literature is there any mention of the capital city of the Kamboja people,61 nor of the location of their country,though it is certain that Kamboja must be located in some part of north-west India not far from Gandhāra. [51] Nandipura seems tobe the only city of the Kambojas that is known from Luder’s Inscriptions, Nos. 176 and 472.In the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī (I, p. 124), we are told that Kamboja was the home of horses.61 ‘We learn from a passage of the Mahābhārata that a place called Rājapura was the home of the Kambojas (Mahābhārata, VII, 4, 5; “Karṇa Rājapuraṁ gatvā Kāmboja nirjitā stvayā ”). The association of the Kambojas with the Gandhāras enables us to identity this Rājapura with the Rājapura of Yuan Chwang which lay to the south or south-east of Punch (Watters, Yuan Chwang, Vol. I, p. 284). The western boundaries of Kamboja must have reached Kafiristan, and there are still in that district tribes like “Caumojne”, “Camoze” and “Camoje” whose names remind us of the Kambojas.’ (PHAI., p. 95.)
Northern India - 129The Commentary on the Kunāla Jātaka (Jāt., V, p. 446) gives us toknow how the Kamboja people caught horses in the forest.In one of the Jātakas (Jāt., Cowell, VI, 110 note) we are informedthat the Kambojas were a north-western tribe who were supposed tohave lost their original Aryan customs and to have become barbarous.In the Bhūridatta Jātaka (Jāt., VI, p. 208) we are told that many Kambojas who were not Aryans told that people were purified by killing insects, flies, snakes, frogs, bees, etc. The Jātaka tradition is corroborated by that contained in Yāṣka’s Nirukta as well as in Yuan Chwang’s account of Rājapura and the adjoining countries ofthe north-west. The Nirukta would have us believe that in Yāṣka’stime the Kambojas had come to be regarded as a people distinctfrom the Aryans of India proper, speaking a different dialect.Speaking of Rājapura, Yuan Chwang says, ‘From Lampa to Rājapura the inhabitants are coarse and plain in personal appearance, of rude violent disposition . . . they do not belong to India proper but are inferior peoples of frontier (i.e., barbarians)stocks’ (Watters – Yuan Chwang, I, pp. 284 ff).It is stated in the Sāsanavaṁsa (P.T.S. 49) that in the 235th year ofthe Mahāparinibbāna of the Buddha, Mahārakkhita thera went tothe Yonaka Province and established the Buddha’s sāsana in Kamboja and other places. The Kambojas are mentioned in the Rock Edicts V and XIII of Asoka.
Northern India - 130They occupied roughly the province round about Rajaori, or ancientRājapura, including the Hazārā district of the North westernFrontier Province.Janapadas, Nigamas, Puras, Gāmas, etc.Alasanda:The Mahāvaṁsa (Geiger’s tr., p. 194) refers to the town of Alasanda which was the chief city of the Yona territory. Geiger identifiesAlasanda with the town of Alexandria founded by Alexander nearKabul in the Paropanisadae country.In the Milindapañho, however, Alasanda has been described as an island where in the village of Kalasigāma King Milinda was born (Trenckner, Milindapañho, pp. 82 and 83; CHI., p. 550).Ariṭṭhapura : From the Sivi Jātaka (Jāt., IV, p. 401) we know that Ariṭṭhapura was the capital of the Sivi kingdorm. Several Jātakas mention (e.g.,Nimi Jātaka, No. 541) a king named Usīnara and his son Sibi; butwhether this prince Sibi had anything to do with the Sibi people or their country, it is difficult to ascertain.In a passage of the Ṛgveda (Vll, I8. 7) there is a mention of the Siva, people along with the Alinas, Pakthas, Bhalānasas and Viśānina.Early Greek writers also refer to a country in [52] the Punjab as the territory of the Siboi.
Northern India - 131It is highly probable that the Śiva country of the Ṛgveda, the Sibi country of the Jātakas (Ummadanti Jātaka, No. 527; Vessantara Jātaka, No. 547) and the Siboi country of the Greek geographers are one and the same.Patañjali mentions a country in the north called Śiva-pura (IV, 2, 2)which is certainly identical with Sibipura mentioned in a [[Shorkot inscription (Ep. Ind., 1921, p. 6.)The Siva, Sibi or Siboi territory is, therefore, identical with the Shorkot region of the Punjab – the ancient Sīvapura or Sibipur.62Besides Ariṭṭhapura there was another city of the Sibi kingdom called Jetuttara near Chitor (Vessantara Jātaka, No. 547).Asitañjana Nagara:In the Ghata Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. IV, p. 79) we are told that a king named Mahākaṁsa reigned in Uttarāpatha, in the Kaṁsa district, in the city of Asitañjana which, however, is difficult to be identified.62 ‘The Mahābhārata (III, 130–131) refers to a rāṣṭra of the Śivis ruled by King Usīnara, which lay not far from the Yamunā. It is not altogether improbable that the Usīnara country was at one time the home of the Śivis. We find them also in Sind, in Madhyamikā in Rājputānā (Vaidya, Med. Hindu India, I, p. 162; Carmichael Lectures, 1918, p. I73) and in the Dasakumāra-Carita, on the banks of the Kāverī.’ (PHAI., pp. I55–56, also f.n., No. 2.).
Northern India - 132Uttarakuru:Uttarakuru is often mentioned in Pāli literature as a mythical region. It has also been mentioned in Vedic and later Brahmanical literature as a country situated somewhere north of Kashmīr.Kalasigāma:Kalasigāma was the birth place of King Milinda (Milindapañho, p.83); it was situated in the Island of Alasanda or Alexandria. Kāsmīra:According to a Jātaka story (No. 406) the kingdom of Kāsmīr was included in the Gandhāra Kingdom.It is stated in the Mahāvaṁsa that after the dissolution of the Third Buddhist Council, Moggaliputta Tissa thera sent Majjhantika thera to Kāsmīra-Gandhāra for propagation of the Buddhist faith. (Seeante: Gandhāra).During the reign of Asoka, Kāsmīra was included in the Maurya dominion. This is proved by the testimony of Yuan Chwang (Watters, I, pp. 267–71). Kurudīpa:The Dīpavaṁsa (p. 16) refers to the Kurudīpa which, however, maybe taken to be identical with Uttarakuru.Takkasīlā : Takkasīlā (Sans. Takshasila) was the capital city of the Gandhāra kingdom, and according to the Jātakas (Telapatta Jātaka, No. 96;
Northern India - 133 Susīma Jātaka, No. 163) it lay 2,000 leagues from Benares asalready pointed out.In Pāli literature Takkasīlā has been frequently mentioned as agreat seat of learning in Ancient [53] India.In the Vinaya Piṭaka (Mahāvagga, pp. 269–270) it is stated that Jīvaka, the royal physician received his education in medicine and surgery there.In the Jātakas (I, p. 259; V, pp. 161, 210, 457) we are told that princes from various kingdoms went to Taxila for education. In one of the Jātakas (Jāt., I, p. 447) it is stated that a young man of the Lāḷa country went to Taxila for education. In another Jātaka (Jāt, II, p. 277) a very beautiful picture of the student life of those days has been drawn.From the Cittasambhūta Jātaka (Jāt, IV, p. 391) we learn that education was eligible for upper classes alone, the Brāhmaṇas and khattiyas. Of the subjects taught, the first three Vedas and eighteen Vijjās are mentioned. Some of the Vijjās taught at Taxila are also mentioned in the Jātakas, e.g., the art of archery (Jāt., I, p. 356), the art of swordsmanship and the various arts (Jāt., V, p. 128.)The Susīma Jātaka (Jāt, II, p. 4.-7) tells us that Bodhisatta, the son of a priest who was a Hatthimaṅgalakāraka to the King of Benares,travelled a distance of 20,000 yojanas and went to Takkasīlā to learn Hatthisuttaṁ.
Northern India - 134References to Ālambanamantaṁ (mantaṁ for charming snakes) and Nidhi-uddharaṇamantaṁ as taught in Taxila are made in the Campeyya Jātaka (Jāt., IV, p. 457) and the Vrahāchatta Jātaka (Jāt,III, p. 116) respectively.From the Divyāvadāna (p. 371) it appears that Takkasīlā wasincluded in the empire of Bindusāra of Magadha, father of Asoka.Once when during his reign there was a rebellion in Takkasīlā, hesent his son Asoka to put down the rising. From the minor RockEdict II of Asoka it seems that Takkasīlā was the headquarters ofthe Provincial Government at Gandhāra and was placed under akumāra or viceroy.According to the Divyāvadāna, a rebellion again broke out in Takkasīlā during the reign of Asoka, and the latter sent his son Kunāla to put down the disturbances.Takkasīlā is identified with Taxila in the district of Rawalpindi in the Punjab.Tidasapura:In the Samantapāsādikā (p. 179) there is a reference to Uttarakuru and its city Tidasapura. Maddaraṭṭha : Maddaraṭṭha is not mentioned in the list of the sixteen Mahājanapadas.
Northern India - 135 Sāgala:In the Milindapañho we are told that King Milinda (Menander), apowerful Graeco-Bactrian King, ruling over the Madda countrywith Sāgala as his capital became a convert to Buddhism(S.B.E.,Vol. XXXV, p. 6).That Sāgala or Sākala (modern Sialkot in the Punjab) was thecapital of the Madra country is also attested to by the Mahābhārata(ll, 32, l4) – ‘Tataḥ Sākalamabhyetva, Madrānāṁ putubhedanam’, as also by several Jātakas (e.g., the Kāḷiṅgabodhi Jātaka., No. 479); the Kusa Jātaka, [54] No. 531).The Madras had a monarchical constitution and their territory maybe said to correspond roughly to Sialkot and its adjacent districts which were known as late as the 18th century as the Madradeśa.In one of the Jātakas (Cowell’s Jātaka, V, pp. 146–147) we are told that King Okkāka had a son named Kusa who married a daughterof the King of Madda. It is further stated that King Okkāka went with a great retinue from Kusāvatī, his capital, to the city of Sāgala, capital of the Madda King.From the Kāliṅgabodhi Jātaka (Cowell’s Jātaka, IV, PP- 144–145)we know that a matrimonial alliance was established between the King of Madda and the King of Kāliṅga. Another matrimonial alliance of the Madda King was made with the royal house of Benares (Chaddanta Jātaka – Cowell’s Jātaka, V, p. 22).
Northern India - 136The Mahāvaṁsa (p. 70) tells us that in Sīhapura, on the death ofKing Sīhavāhu, his Son Sumitta became king, and married thedaughter of the Madda King and had three sons by her.Nābhaka:It is referred to in the Rock Edicts V and XIII of Asoka. TheNabhapantis of Nābhaka63 must be looked for somewhere betweenthe North-west Frontier and the western coast of India.Yona or Yonaka:The Yonaka or Yona country was visited, according to theDīpavaṁsa and Mahāvaṁsa (Chap. XII) by the TheraMahārakkhita.According to the Sāsanavaṁsa (p. 12) the Yonakaraṭṭha is thecountry of the Yavana or Yona people.The Rock Edicts V and XIII of Asoka mention the Yonas as asubject people, forming a frontier district of Asoka’s Empire. Theexact situation of the Yonaka country is difficult to be determined.According to the Mahāvaṁsa, its chief city was Alasanda identifiedwith Alexandria near Kabul in the Paropanisadae country(Mahāvaṁsa, tr., p. 194; Trenckner, Milindapañho, p. 82).63 In the Rock Edicts V and XIII of Asoka, the Yonas, Kambojas, Gāndhāras, Rāshtrikas-Pitinikas, Bhojas Nābhapantis, Andhras and Pulindas are mentioned. We have to take these names as those of subject people, forming some of the frontier districts of Asoka’s Empire.
Northern India - 137Rivers, Lakes, Tanks, etc.Anotatta:Anotatta has been mentioned as a lake in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (IV,p. 101) and is included in the list of the seven great lakes in theHimalayas (Dv. and Mv.). Buddha is said to have visited the lakemany a time. It is generally supposed that the Anotatta orAnavatapta lake is the same as Rawanhrad or Langa. But SpenceHarmy considers it to be an imaginary lake (Legends and Theoriesof the Buddhists, p. 129).Uhā:The river Uhā is stated in the Milindapañho (p. 70) to have beenlocated in the Himavanta.Candabhāgā:[55] In the Milindapañho (p. 114) we are told of the five hundredrivers that issued forth from the Himavanta mountain. Of theserivers ten are said to be important: Gaṅga, Yamunā, Aciravatī,Sarabhū, Mahī, Sindhu, Sarassatī, Vetravatī, Vitaṁsā andCandabhāgā. The Candabhāgā (Sans. Candrabhāgā) is the Chināb,the Acesines of the Greeks or the Asiknī of the Ṛgveda, a tributaryof the Indus or the Sindhu.Vītaṁsa:Vītaṁsa (Milindapañho, p. 114) represented by the Sanskrit Vitastāis the river Jhelum, the Hydaspes of the Greeks.
Northern India - 138Sīhappapāta:It has been described in the Kunāla Jātaka (Jāt, Vol. V, p. 415) as alake in the Himavanta. Tiyaggala has been described in the sameJātaka to be another lake in the Himavanta.Sindhu:Of the five hundred rivers referred to in the Milindapañho asissuing from the Himavanta (p. 114), Sindhu is one of the mostimportant. It is the river Indus, the Sintu of the Chinese travellers.Mountains, Hills, Precipices, etc.Añjana:Añjana has been described in the Sarabhaṅga Jātaka (Jāt.,Vol. V, p.133) as a mountain situated in the Mahāvana or Great Forest. It isthe Sulliman range in the Punjab.Anoma, Asoka, and Cāvala:These are mountains not far from the Himavanta (Apadāna, pp.342, 345 and 451 respectively).Kañcana:In the Abbhantara Jātaka (Jāt., II, p. 396) we are told that theKañcana pabbata is in the Himavanta. From the Nimi Jātaka (Jāt,VI, p. 101) we know that it is in the Uttara Himavanta.Nisabha:The Nisabha pabbata is not far off from the Himavanta (Apadāna,p. 67). It is the mountain which lies to the west of theGandhamādana and north of the Kabul river called by the GreeksParopanisos, now called the Hindukush.
Northern India - 139Nandamūlappabhāra:The Nandamūlappabhāra is in the Uttara Himavanta (Jāt., II, p.195). Chapter III: Aparāntaka or Western IndiaBoundaries:[56] According to the Brahmanical tradition recorded in theKāvyamīmāṁsa (p. 93), the country lying to the west of Devasabhā(a city on a mountain not yet identified) was called the Paścātdeśaor the western Country (Devasabhāyāḥ parataḥ paścātdeśaḥ, tatraDevasabha-Surāṣṭra-Daseraka-Travaṇa-Bhrigukaccha-Kacchīya-Ānarta-Arvuda-Brāhmaṇavāha-Yavana-prabhritayo Janapadāḥ).Devasabhā is also referred to in the Arthaśāstra (Sanskrit text, p.78) as producing red sandal.According to the Buddhist tradition recorded in the Sāsanavaṁsa(p. 11), Aparāntaka is, however, the region lying to the west of theUpper Irawady.According to Sir R. G. Bhandarkar, Aparānta was the NorthernKonkan, whose capital was Surpāraka (mod. Sopārā); whileaccording to Bhagavānlal Indraji the western sea-board of Indiawas called Aparāntaka or Aparāntika.Yuan Chwang, the celebrated Chinese Buddhist traveller, seems, onthe whole, to be more definite on this point. According to hisaccount, the western Country seems to comprise ‘Sindh, western
Eastern Country - 140Rajputana, Cutch, Gujarat and a portion of the adjoining coast onthe lower course of the Narmadā, three states – Sindh, Gurjara andValabhi’ (CAGI., Notes, p. 690).The Dīpavaṁsa (p. 54) and the Mahāvaṁsa (Ch. XII) state thatYona Dhammarakkhita, a Buddhist missionary, was sent toAparāntaka for the spread of Buddhism there.Janapadas, Nigamas, Puras, Gāmas, etc.Asitamasā:Asitamasā is referred to in the Barhut inscriptions (Barua andSinha, p. 32). Cunningham locates it somewhere on the bank of theTamasā or Ton river.The Vāmna Purāṇa mentions Asinīla and Tāmasa among thecountries of western India.Bharukaccha:In the Sussondi Jātaka (Jāt., III, pp. 187 ff.) we read of the minstrelSagga’s journey from Benares to Bharukaccha. It was a seaporttown from which ships used to sail for different countries.In one of the Jātakas it is stated that some merchants once sailedfrom Bharukaccha to Suvaṇṇabhūmi (identified with LowerBurma).In the Divyāvadāna (pp. 544–586) there is a very interesting storyaccounting for the name of the city. It is said that Rudrāyaṇa, Kingof Roruka (may be identical with Alor, an old city of Sindh), inSauvīra was killed by his son Sikhaṇḍi. As a punishment of this
Eastern Country - 141crime, the realm of Sikhaṇḍī, the parricide king, was destroyed by aheavy shower of sands. [57] Three pious men only survived – twoministers and a Buddhist monk – who went out in search of a newland. Bhiru, one of the two ministers at last found one andestablished a new city there which came to he named after him –Bhiruka or Bhirukaccha whence came the name Bharukaccha.Bhrigukaccha is, however, the Sanskrit rendering which means‘high coast land’ and the city is exactly situated on a high coastland.According to Brahmanical tradition, the city was so called becauseit was founded by the sage Bhrigu (Imp. Gaz. of India, IX, p. 30).Bhrigukaccha is mentioned in the Kūrmavibhāga and Bhuvanakoṣa;and it is identical with Barygaza of Ptolemy (pp. 38 and 152) andthe Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (pp. 40 and 287). It is modernBroach in Kathiawar.Cikula:Cikula is mentioned in the Barhut inscriptions (Barua and Sinha, p.14). The location of the place unknown. One of the Nasik Caveinscriptions (Lüder’s list, No. 1133) mentions Cikhala Padra as avillage. Cikula, Cekula=Ceula, probably Caul near Bombay (Ep.Ind., II, p. 42).Mahāraṭṭha:we are told in the Mahāvaṁsa (Ch. XII) that Mahādhammarakkhitawas sent to spread the gospel of the Buddha in the Mahāraṭṭha.
Eastern Country - 142According to the Sāsanavaṁsa (pp. 12, 13), it is, however,Mahānagararaṭṭha or Siam.Mahāraṭṭha is the present Maraṭha country, the country watered bythe Upper Godāvarī and that lying between that river and theKrishnā.Nāsika:Nāsika is mentioned in the Barhut inscriptions (p. 16). It is Nāsikaor Naisika of the Purāṇas and Janasthāna of the Rāmāyaṇa.According to the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, it was situated on theNarmada.Janasthāna, as it appears from the Ramayanic description, waswithin the reach of Panchvatī on the Godāvarī.Janasthāna came to be known as Nāsika from the circumstance thathere Surpanakhā’s nose was out off by Lakshmaṇa.Nāsika is modern Nasik which is about 75 miles to the north westof Bombay. During the reign of the Sātavāhana kings of Andhra,Nāsika was a stronghold of the Bhadrayaniya School of Buddhists(Lüder’s list, Nos. 1122–1149).Naggadīpa:Vijaya, son of King Sīhavāhu of Lāḷaraṭṭha in western India, wasdriven out of the kingdom of his father. He with his 700 men wasthrown into the sea in boats. Their wives also shared the same fate.Vijaya with his followers landed in the Naggadīpa and the women
Eastern Country - 143in the Mahilādīpa. Vijaya with his men again sailed fromNaggadīpa and reached Suppāraka and thence went to Sīhaladīpa(Mv., p. 60).It is interesting to note that Yuan Chwang speaks of a kingdom inthe north-west India. [58] ruled over by women. Is it possible toidentity the Strīrājya of Yuan Chwang with the Mahilādīpaka ofthe Mahāvaṁsa?Roruka:In the Divyāvadāna (pp. 544 foll.) we read that Pāṭaliputta andRoruka were two important cities. It is said that King Rudrāyana ofRoruka was a contemporary of King Bimbisāra of Magadha andthey became intimate friends. There was then a brisk trade betweenRājagaha and Roruka. It is said merchants from Rājagaha went toRoruka for trade.Seriyāputa:It is mentioned in the Barhut inscriptions (p. 32). The location ofthe place is unknown.The Serivānija Jātaka (Fausboll, Jātaka, No. 3) mentions a kingdomby the name of Seriva. The city of Andhapura, could be reached bythe merchants from Seriva by crossing the river Telvāha.It seems that Seriyāputa was, like Suppāraka and Bharukaccha, animportant port on the western coast of lndia.
Eastern Country - 144Sovīra:In the Āditta Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. III, p. 470) mention is made of thekingdom of Sovīra of which the capital was Roruka.Sovīra, has been identified by Cunningham with Eder, a district inthe provinces of Gujerat at the head of the Gulf of Cambay.The name Sindhu-Sauvīra suggests that Sovīra was situated betweenthe Indus and the Jhelum.Suppāraka:Suppāraka was a seaport town (Dh.C., II, p. 210). SuppārakaSanskrit Surpāraka, and is mentioned in the Dīpavaṁsa (p. 55) andMahāvaṁsa, (p. 60) as well. It is identical with Supārā or Sopāra, inthe district of Thānā, 37 miles north of Bombay and about 4 milesnorth-west of Bassein.Suraṭṭha:According to the Sarabhaṅga Jātaka (Jāt., V, p. 133) a stream calledSātodikā flowed along the borders of the Suraṭṭha country which isrepresented by Sanskrit Surāshtra, the Su-la-cha of Yuan Chwang.According to the Chinese pilgrim, its capital lay at the foot of Mt.Yuh-shan-ta (Pkr. Ujjanta, Skr. Urjayat of Radradāman’s, andSkandagupta’s inscriptions, and is identical with modern Junāgad,the ancient Girinagara, i.e., Girnār). Surattha comprises modernKathiawad and other portions of Gujerat.
Eastern Country - 145Sīhapura and Lāḷaraṭṭha:Lāḷaraṭṭha is mentioned in the Dīpavaṁsa (p. 54) and Mahāvaṁsa(p. 60) as a kingdom ruled over by a King name Sīhavāhu.Lāḷaraṭṭha is Sanskrit Lātarāṣṭra and is evidently identical with theold Lāta kingdom of Gujerat, the Larike of Ptolemy (p. 38), thecapital city of which is stated in the Dīpavaṁsa (p. 54) to have beenSīhapura.Seas, Rivers, Waterfalls, etc.Khuramāla:[59] Khurāmāla, a sea. Merchants who set sail from Bharukacchahad to go through the Khuramāla sea. Here, it is stated, fishes withbodies like men, and sharp razor-like spouts, dive in and out of thewater (Suppāraka Jātaka, Jāt., Vol. IV).Sātodika:A river in the Suraṭṭha country (Jāt, Vol. III, p. 463).Vaḷabhā-mukha Sea:Here the water is sucked away and rises on every side, and thewater thus sucked away on all sides rises in sheer precipices leavingwhat looks like a great pit (Jāt., IV, p. 141).Nalamāla Sea:It had the aspect of an expanse of reeds or a grove of bamboos (Jāt,IV, p. 140).Nīlavaṇṇa-Kusamala Sea:It had the appearance of a field of corn (Jāt, IV, p. 140).
Eastern Country - 146MountainHiṅgula:The Hiṅgula pabbata is in the Himavantapadesa (Jāt., V, p. 415).Hinglāj is situated at the extremity of the range of mountains inBeluchisthan called by the name of Hiṅgulā, about 20 miles or aday’s journey from the sea-coast, on the bank of the Aghor orHiṅgulā or Hingol river near its mouth (GD., p. 75).
147 Chapter IV:Dakkhiṇāpatha or The Deccan and the Far SouthBoundaries:[60] According to the Brahmanical tradition as contained in theKāvyamīmāṁsa, Dakṣiṇāpatha is the region lying to the south ofMāhiṣmatī (‘Māhiṣmatyaḥ parataḥ Dakṣiṇāpathaḥ’) which has beenidentified with Mandhātā on the Narmadā.From the definitions of Madhyadeśa as given by Vaśiṣṭha andBaudhāyana (I, 8; I, 1, 2, 9, etc., respectively) it seems that theDakṣiṇāpatha region lay to the south of Pāripātra which isgenerally identifled with a portion of the Vindhyas.The Dharmaśāstra of Manu seems, however, to corroborate theboundary as given by the Sūtra writers, for, from Manu’s boundaryof the Madhyadeśa, it is evident that the Southern Country or theDakṣiṇa janapada lay to the south of the Vindhyas (see ante:Boundaries of the Madhyadeśa).The Buddhist tradition as to the northern boundary of theDakkhiṇāpatha is, however, a bit different. The Mahāvagga and theDivyāvadāna seem to record that the Dakkhiṇa janapada lay to thesouth of the town of Satakannika, a locality which has not yetdefinitely been identified (see ante: Boundaries of Majjhimadesa).The Vinaya Piṭaka, however, uses the term Dakkhiṇāpatha in amuch narrower sense (Vol. I, pp. 195, 196; Vol. II, p. 298) and refersto it as a region confined to a remote settlement of the Aryans onthe Upper Godāvarī.
Deccan and the Far South - 148Buddhaghosa, the celebrated Buddhist commentator, definesDakkhiṇāpatha or the Deccan as the tract of land lying to the southof the Ganges (SMV., I, p. 265) and was the same as Dakkhiṇajanapada.As we have already pointed out that from the prologue of Book Vof the Sutta Nipāta, it appears that the Dakkhiṇāpatha lent its nameto the region through which it passed – i.e., the whole tract of landlying to the south of the Ganges and to the north of the riverGodāvarī being known (according to Buddhaghosa) asDakkhiṇāpatha or the Deccan proper (cf. Vinaya-Mahāvagga, V,13; Vinaya-Cullavagga, XII, I).The region lying south of the river Godāvarī seems to have beenlittle known to the early Buddhists; and it seems that the earliestintimate knowledge of the geography of the country, now known asthe Far South, was acquired not earlier than the suzerainty ofAsoka.Ceylon, to the early Buddhist, was undoubtedlay known, but theisland was reached more often by sea than by land.[61] The Word ‘Dakṣiṇātya’ is mentioned by Pāṇini (IV, 2, 98);whereas Dakṣiṇāpatha is referred to by Baudhāyana who couples itwith Saurāṣṭra (Bau. Sūtra, I, 1, 29). But, it is difficult to say whatPāṇini and Baudhāyana mean exactly by Dakṣiṇātya orDakṣiṇāpatha.
