600 miles, or very nearly equal to the estimate of the Chinese pilgrim. 6. GOVISANA, OR KASHIPUR. To the south-cast of Maḍâwar, at a distance of 400 li, or 67 miles, Hwen Thsang places the kingdom of Kiu-pi-shwang-na, which M. Julien renders by Govisana. The capital was 15 li, or 24 miles, in circuit. Its position was lofty, and of difficult access, and it was surrounded by groves, tanks, and fishponds.* According to the recorded bearing and distance from Madâwar, we must look for Govisana somewhere to the north of Murâdâbâd. In this direction the only place of any antiquity is the old fort near the village of Ujain, which is just one mile to the east of Kâshipur. According to the route which I marched, the distance is 44 kos, or 66 miles. I estimate the value of the kos by the measured distance of 59 miles between the post-offices of Bareli and Murâdâbâd, which is always called 40 kos by the natives. The true bearing of Kâshipur is east-south-east instead of south-east, but the difference is not great, and as the position of Kâshipur is just as clearly indicated by the subsequent route to Ahichhatra, I feel quite satisfied that the old fort near the village of Ujain represents the ancient city of Govisana which was visited by Hwen Thsang. Bishop Hebert describes Kâshipur as a "famous place of Hindu pilgrimage which was built by a divinity named Kashi 5000 years ago." But the good bishop was grossly deceived by his informant, as it is well known that the town is a modern one, it having been built about A.D. 1718 by Káshi-náth, a follower * Julien's Hiouen Thsang,' ii. 233. See Map No. X. Travels in India,' ii. 246. of Raja Devi-Chandra of Champawat in Kumaon. The old fort is now called Ujain; but as that is the name of the nearest village, it seems probable that the true name has been lost. The place itself had been deserted for several hundred years before the occupation of Kâshipur; but as the holy tank of Dron-ságar had never ceased to be visited by pilgrims, I presume that the name of the tank must have gradually superseded that of the fort. Even at the present day the name of Dron-Sagar is just as well known as that of Kâshipur. The old fort of Ujain is very peculiar in its form, which may be best compared to the body of a guitar. It is 3000 feet, in length from cast to west, and 1500 feet in breadth, the whole circuit being upwards of 9000 feet, or rather less than 2 miles. Iwen Thsang describes the circuit of Govisana as about 12,000 feet, or nearly 2 miles, but in this measurement he must have included the long mound of ruins on the south side, which is evidently the remains of an ancient suburb. By including this mound as an undoubted part of the old city, the circuit of the ruins is upwards of 11,000 feet, or very nearly the same as that given by Hwen Thsang. Numerous groves, tanks, and fish-ponds still surround the place. Indeed the trees are particularly luxuriant, owing to the high level of the water, which is within 5 or 6 feet of the surface. For the same reason the tanks are numerous and always full of water. The largest of these is the Dron-ságar, which, as well as the fort, is said to have been constructed by the five Pandu brothers for the use of their teacher Drona. The tank is only 600 feet square, but it is esteemed very holy, and is much frequented by pilgrims on their way to the source of the Ganges. Its high banks are covered with Sali monuments of recent date. The walls of the fort are built of large massive bricks, 15 by 10 by 24 inches, which are always a sure sign of antiquity. The general height of the walls is 30 feet above the fields; but the whole is now in complete ruin, and covered with dense jangal. Shallow ditches still exist on all sides except the east. The interior is very uneven, but the mass has a mean height of about 20 feet above the country. There are two low openings in the ramparts, one to the north-west and the other to the south-west, which now serve as entrances to the jangal, and which the people say were the old gates of the fort. The district of Govisana was 2000 li, or 333 miles, in circuit. No king is mentioned, and the country, as I have already noticed, was most probably subject to the Raja of Madawar. It was confined on the north by Brahmapura, on the west by Maḍâwar, and on the south and east by Ahichhatra. It must, therefore, have corresponded very nearly with the modern districts of Kashipur, Râmpur, and Pilibhît, extending from the Ramgangâ on the west to the Sârda or Ghagra on the cast, and towards Bareli on the south. With these boundaries the circuit of the district would have been about 290 miles measured direct, or upwards of 300 miles by road distance. 7. AHICHHATRA. From Govisana Hwen Thsang proceeded to the south-cast 400 li, or 66 miles, to Ahi-chi-ta-lo, or Ahichhatra.* This once famous place still preserves its ancient name as Ahichhatr, although it has been * Julien's Hiouen Thsang,' ii. 234. See Map No. X. deserted for many centuries. Its history reaches back to B.c. 1430, at which time it was the capital of northcrn Pánchála. The name is written Ahi-kshetra, as well as Ahi-chhatra, but the local legend of Adi Raja and the Nâga, who formed a canopy over his head when asleep, shows that the latter is the correct form. This grand old fort is said to have been built by Raja Adi, an Ahir, whose future clevation to sovereignty was foretold by Drona, when he found him sleeping under the guardianship of a serpent with expanded hood. The place is mentioned by Ptolemy as Adiσádpa, which proves that the legend attached to the name of Adi is at least as old as the beginning of the Christian era. The fort is also called Adikot, but the more common name is Ahichhatr. According to the 'Mahâbhârata,' the great kingdom of Pánchála extended from the Himalaya mountains to the Chambal river. The capital of north Pánchála, or Rohilkhand, was Ahi-chhatra, and that of south Pánchála, or the Central Gangetic Doab, was Kampilya, now Kampil, on the old Ganges between Budaon and Farokhabad. Just before the great war, or about 1430 B.C., the king of Pánchála, named Drupada, was conquered by Drona, the preceptor of the five Pândus. Drona retained north Pânchála for himself, but restored the southern half of the kingdom to Drupada. According to this account, the name of Ahi-chhatra, and consequently also the legend of Adi Raja and the serpent, are many centuries anterior to the rise of Buddhism. It would appear, however, that the Buddhists must have adopted and altered the legend to do honour to their great teacher, for Hwen Thsang records that out serpent side the town there was a Nága-hrada, or " tank," near which Buddha had preached the law for seven days in favour of the serpent king, and that the spot was marked by a stupa of King Asoka.* Now, as the only existing stupa at this place is called Chattr, I infer that the Buddhist legend represented the Naga king after his conversion as forming a canopy over Buddha with his expanded hood. I think, also, that the stupa erected on the spot where the conversion took place would naturally have been called Ahichhatra, or the "serpent canopy." A similar story is told at Buddha Gaya of the Nâga King Muchalinda, who, with his expanded hood, sheltered Buddha from the shower of rain produced by the malignant demon Mâra. The account of Ahi-chhatra given by Hwen Thsang is unfortunately very meagre, otherwise we might most probably have identified many of the existing ruins with the Buddhist works of an early age. The capital was 17 or 18 li, or just three miles in circuit, and was defended by natural obstacles. It possessed 12 monasteries, containing about 1000 monks, and 9 Brahmanical temples, with about 300 worshippers of Iswara Deva (Siva), who smeared their bodies with ashes. The stupa near the serpent tank, outside the town, has already been mentioned. Close beside it, there were four small stupas built on the spots where the four previous Buddhas had either sat or walked. Both the size and the peculiar position of the ruined fortress of Ahi-chhatra agrce so exactly with Hwen Thsang's description of the ancient Ahi-chhatra, that there can be no doubt whatever of their identity. The circuit of the walls, as they stand at present, is 19,400 * Julien's Hiouen Thsang,' ii. 235. |