fore that the estimated size of Vaisâli proper, as corded by Hwen Thsang, is a simple mistake. Perhaps we should read 1500 li, or 250 miles, instead of 5000 li, or 833 miles. In this case the district of Vaisâli would be limited to the south-west corner of the country of the Vrijis, to the westward of the little Gandak river. To the north-west of Vaisâli, at somewhat less than 200 li, or 33 miles, Hwen Thsang places the ruins of an ancient town, which had been deserted for many ages. There Buddha was said to have reigned in a previous existence, as a Chakravartti Raja, or supreme ruler, named Mahâdeva, and a stupa still existed to commemorate the fact. The name of the place is not given, but the bearing and distance point to Kesariya, an old ruined town, just 30 miles to the north-northwest of Vaisâli. The place possesses a mound of ruins with a lofty stupa on the top, which the people attribute to Raja Vena Chakravartti. In the Puránas also, Raja Vena is called a Chakravartti, or supreme monarch; and I have found his name as widely spread through northern India as that of Rama, or the five Pandus. This monument stands at the point of crossing of the two great thoroughfares of the district, namely, that from Patna northward to Bettiah, and that from Chapra across the Gandak to Nepal. It is a curious illustration of this fact that Buddha himself, according to the Ceylonese chronicles, informed Ananda, that "for a Chakravartti Raja they build the thupo at a spot where four principal roads meet." I have little doubt therefore that this is the identical place indicated by the Chinese pilgrim. *Turnour, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vii. 1006. 24. VRIJI. From Vaisâli, Hwen Thsang proceeded to the northeast for 500 li, or 83 miles, to Fo-li-shi, or Vriji, which has already been identified as the territory of the powerful tribe of Wujji, or Vriji. In the time of Buddha, the Vrijis were divided into several clans, as the Lichhavis, the Vaidehis, the Tirabhuktis, and others, whose names are unknown. The exact number of their clans would appear to have been eight, as criminals were arraigned before the atthakulaka,* or "eight clans," which would appear to have been a jury composed of one member from each of the separate divisions of the tribe. Hwen Thsang mentions that the people of the north called them San-fa-shi, or Samvajji, that is the "United Vajjis,"—and the same name is referred to in the long and interesting account of the people of Wajji, which is given by Turnour from the Pali chronicles of Ceylon. † The great monarch Ajatasatru, of Magadha, wishing to subdue the "great and powerful" people of Wajji, sent his minister to consult Buddha as to the best means of accomplishing his object. The Raja is informed that so long as the people of Wajji remained "united," they would be invincible. The Raja, by a stratagem of his minister, in the course of three years, so completely disunited their rulers, one from another, that no two would walk the same road together," and they were accordingly subdued without making any resistance. According to Turnour, "the union of the Wajjian states consisted of a confederation of chiefs." The name of * Turnour, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vii. 993, and note. Ibid. vii. 992, note. fore that the estimated size of Vaisâli proper, as recorded by Hwen Thsang, is a simple mistake. Perhaps we should read 1500 li, or 250 miles, instead of 5000 li, or 833 miles. In this case the district of Vaisâli would be limited to the south-west corner of the country of the Vrijis, to the westward of the little Gandak river. To the north-west of Vaisâli, at somewhat less than 200 li, or 33 miles, Hwen Thsang places the ruins of an ancient town, which had been deserted for many ages. There Buddha was said to have reigned in a previous existence, as a Chakravartti Raja, or supreme ruler, named Mahâdeva, and a stupa still existed to commemorate the fact. The name of the place is not given, but the bearing and distance point to Kesariya, an old ruined town, just 30 miles to the north-northwest of Vaisâli. The place possesses a mound of ruins with a lofty stupa on the top, which the people attribute to Raja Vena Chakravartti. In the Puranas also, Raja Vena is called a Chakravartti, or supreme mcnarch; and I have found his name as widely spread through northern India as that of Rama, or the five Pandus. This monument stands at the point of crossing of the two great thoroughfares of the district, namely, that from Patna northward to Bettiah, and that from Chapra across the Gandak to Nepâl. It is a curious illustration of this fact that Buddha himself, according to the Ceylonese chronicles, informed Ananda, that "for a Chakravartti Raja they build the thupo at a spot where four principal roads meet." I have little doubt therefore that this is the identical place indicated by the Chinese pilgrim. *Turnour, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vii. 1006. from the nearest point of the Gandak river.* The ancient remains consist of a handsome stone pillar, surmounted by a lion and inscribed with Asoka's edicts, and of three rows of earthen barrows or conical mounds of earth, of which two rows lie from north to south, and the third from east to west. Now the stupas usually met with are built either of stone or of brick; but the earliest stupas were mere mounds of earth, of which these are the most remarkable specimens that I have seen. I believe that they are the sepulchral monuments of the early kings of the country prior to the rise of Buddhism, and that their date may be assumed as ranging from 600 to 1500 B.C. Every one of these barrows is called simply bhisâ, or "mound," but the whole are said to have been the kots or fortified dwellings of the ministers and nobles of Raja Uttánpat, while the fort of Navandgarh was the king's own residence. The word stúpa meant originally only a "mound of earth," and this is the meaning given to it by Colebrooke, in his translation of the 'Amara Kosha.' I believe that these earthen stúpas or chaityas of Navandgarh must form part of those alluded to by Buddha himself in his sixth question addressed to Ananda about the people of Vriji:+ "Anando! hast thou heard that the Wajjians, whatever the number may be of the Wajjian chetiyáni belonging to the Wajjian (rulers), whether situated within or without (the city), they maintain, respect, reverence, and make offerings to them; and that they keep up without diminution the ancient offerings, the ancient observances, and the ancient sacrifices righteously *See Map No. XI. † Turnour, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vii. 994. Sam-vriji, or the "United Vrijis," was therefore a descriptive title of the whole nation of eight clans, who, as Buddha remarked, were accustomed to hold frequent meetings, to act in concert, and to uphold the ancient Wajjian institutions. No king is mentioned, but the people are stated to have respected and obeyed the orders of their elders. According to Hwen Thsang the country of the Vrijis was long from east to west, and narrow from north to south.* This description corresponds exactly with the tract of country lying between the Gandak and Mahanadi rivers, which is 300 miles in length by 100 miles in breadth. Within these limits there are several ancient cities, some of which may possibly have been the capitals of the eight different clans of the Vrijis. Of these Vaisali, Kesariya, and Janakpur have already been noticed; the others are Navandgarh, Simrún, Darbanga, Puraniya, and Motihari. The last three are still inhabited and are well known; but Simrún has been deserted for upwards of 550 years, while Navandgarh has probably been abandoned for at least fifteen centuries. Simrûn has been described by Mr. Hodgson,† but its ruins still require to be carefully surveyed before we can form an opinion as to its probable antiquity. I visited Navandgarh myself in 1862, and found it one of the oldest and most interesting places in northern India. Navandgarh or Naonadgarh is a ruined fort from 250 to 300 feet square at top and 80 feet in height. It is situated close to the large village of Lauriya, 15 miles to the north-north-west of Bettiah and 10 miles * Julien's Hiouen Thsang,' ii. 402. See Map No. XI. See Map No. XI. |