grim was to the north, and the distance was from 170 to 180 li, or from 28 to 38 miles. Now the present city of Ajudhya, the ancient Ayodhya or Sâketa, is almost due north from Sultanpur, the distance being 30 miles to the nearest point, or just six miles in excess of the distance given by Hwen Thsang. As the former of these distances is in default, while the latter is in excess, I would suggest, as a possible alternative, that our measurements should be taken from the village of Mahmudpur, which would make the route from Kosam to the Buddhist establishment near Kasapura up to 114 miles, or within three miles of the number stated by Hwen Thsang, and lessen the subsequent route to Ayodhya from 36 to 31 miles, which is within one mile of the number given by the Chinese pilgrim. As all the bearings are in perfect accordance, and as the names of the two places agree almost exactly, I think that there can be little hesitation in accepting the identification of Sultanpur or Kusapura with the Kasapura of Hwen Thsang.

Kusapura, or Kusa-bhavana-pura, is said to have been named after Rama's son, Kusa. Shortly after the Muhammadan invasion it belonged to a Bhar Raja Nand Kunwar, who was expelled by Sultan Alauddin Ghori (read Khilji). The defences of the town were strengthened by the conqueror, who built a mosque and changed the name of the place to Sultânpur. The site of Kusapura was, no doubt, selected by its founder as a good military position on account of its being surrounded on three sides by the river Gomati or Gumti. The place is at present utterly desolate; the whole population having been removed to the new civil station on the opposite or south bank of

of a single piece of money procured as much merit as that of one thousand pieces elsewhere. Before the principal room of the temple there was a large tree with wide-spreading branches, which was said to be the abode of a man-eating demon. The tree was surrounded with human bones, the remains of pilgrims who had sacrificed their lives before the temple, a practice which had been observed from time immemorial.

I think there can be little doubt that the famous tree here described by the pilgrim is the well-known Akshay Bat, or "undecaying Banian tree," which is still an object of worship at Allahabad. This tree is now situated underground, at one side of a pillared court, which would appear to have been open formerly, and which is, I believe, the remains of the temple described by Hwen Thsang. The temple is situated inside the fort of Allahabad, to the east of the Ellenborough Barracks, and due north from the Stone Pillar of Asoka and Samudra Gupta. Here, then, must have been the site of the city in the seventh century, and this agrees with the sunken position of the tree, for originally both tree and temple must have been on the natural ground level; but from the constant accumulation of rubbish, they have been gradually earthed up, until the whole of the lower portion of the temple has disappeared underground. The upper portion has long ago been removed, and the only access to the Akshay Bat now available is by a flight of steps which leads down to a square pillared courtyard. This court has apparently once been open to the sky; but it is now completely closed overhead, to secure darkness and mystery for the holy fig-tree.

from the route of a Hindu pilgrim from the banks of the Godavari to Sewet or Srávasti, as recorded in the Ceylonese Buddhist works. This pilgrim, after passing through Mahissati and Ujani, or Mahesmati and Ujain, reaches Kosâmbi, and from thence passes through Saketa to Sewet, that is along the very route followed by Hwen Thsang.* We have, therefore, two authorities in favour of Sewet being to the north of Sâket. With regard to the distance, I refer again to the Buddhist books of Ceylon, in which it is recorded that from Sakaspura (or Sangkasyapura, now Sankisa) to Sewet was a journey of 30 yojanas.† Now, Fa-Hian makes the distance from Sankisa to Kanoj 7 yojanas, thence to the forest of Holi, on the Ganges, 3 yojanas, and thence to Shachi 10 yojanas, or altogether only 20 yojanas, or 10 less than the Ceylonese books. That Fa-Hian's statement is erroneous is quite clear from the fact that his distance would place Shachi in the neighbourhood of Lucknow; whereas the other distance would place it close to Ajudhya, or Faizâbâd, or in the very position indicated by Hwen Thsang's itinerary. Here, again, we have two authorities in favour of the longer distance. I have no hesitation, therefore, in declaring that Fa-Hian's recorded bearing of She-wei from Sha-chi is wrong, and that "north" should be read instead of "south."

I have now to show that Fa-Hian's Sha-chi is the same as Hwen Thsang's Visakha, and that both are identical with Saketa or Ajudhya. With respect to Sha-chi, Fa-Hian relates that "on leaving the town by the southern gate you find to the east of the road the place where Buddha bit a branch of the nettle

Hardy, Manual of Buddhism,' p. 334.

+ Ibid., p. 301.

pitched my tent on one side of the now utterly desolate city, and searched the whole place through most carefully, but all in vain: I could neither find the trace of any tope, nor could I even hear of ancient remains of any kind. On the following day, however, after I had left Sultânpur, I heard that the village of Mahmudpur, about 5 miles to the north-west, was situated on an ancient mound of somewhat larger size than that of Sultanpur, and on my arrival at Faizabad, I learned from Lieutenant Swetenham, of the Royal Engineers, that there is an old tope to the north-west of Sultanpur, not far from this village. I conclude, therefore, that Sultânpur, the ancient Kusapura, is the same place as the Kasapura of Hwen Thsang, and this identification will be made even more certain on examination of the recorded distances.

On leaving Kosâmbi, the pilgrim proceeded first in a north-east direction to the Ganges, after crossing which he turned to the north to Kasapura, the whole distance being 117 miles. Now, the two great ghâts on the Ganges to the north-east of Kosam are at MauSaraya and Papa-mau, the former being 40 miles, and the latter 43 miles distant. But as these two ghâts are close together, and almost immediately to the north of Allahabad, the total distance to Kasapura will be the same whichever place of crossing be taken. From Papamau to Sultanpur the direction is due north, and the distance 66 miles; the whole line from Kosam to Sultanpur being 109 miles, which is within 8 miles of the round number of 700 li, or 1163 miles, as given by Hwen Thsang; while both of the bearings are in exact accordance with his statements. From Kasapura to Visakha the direction followed by the pil

grim was to the north, and the distance was from 170 to 180 li, or from 28 to 38 miles. Now the present city of Ajudhya, the ancient Ayodhya or Sâketa, is almost due north from Sultanpur, the distance being 30 miles to the nearest point, or just six miles in excess of the distance given by Hwen Thsang. As the former of these distances is in default, while the latter is in excess, I would suggest, as a possible alternative, that our measurements should be taken from the village of Mahmudpur, which would make the route from Kosam to the Buddhist establishment near Kasapura up to 114 miles, or within three miles of the number stated by Hwen Thsang, and lessen the subsequent route to Ayodhya from 36 to 31 miles, which is within one mile of the number given by the Chinese pilgrim. As all the bearings are in perfect accordance, and as the names of the two places agree almost exactly, I think that there can be little hesitation in accepting the identification of Sultanpur or Kusapura with the Kasapura of Hwen Thsang.

Kusapura, or Kusa-bhavana-pura, is said to have been named after Rama's son, Kusa. Shortly after the Muhammadan invasion it belonged to a Bhar Raja Nand Kunwar, who was expelled by Sultan Alauddin Ghori (read Khilji). The defences of the town were strengthened by the conqueror, who built a mosque and changed the name of the place to Sultânpur. The site of Kusapura was, no doubt, selected by its founder as a good military position on account of its being surrounded on three sides by the river Gomati or Gumti. The place is at present utterly desolate; the whole population having been removed to the new civil station on the opposite or south bank of