legend, the Chândels are sprung from Hemavati, daughter of Hem-râj, the Brahman Purohit of Indrajit, Gâhirwar Raja of Banâras. Hemâvati was very beautiful, and one day when she went to bathe in the Râti Tâlâb, she was seen and embraced by Chandramá, the god of the moon, as he was preparing to return to the skies. Hemâvati cursed him. "Why do you curse me?" said Chandramâ, "your son will be Lord of the Earth, and from him will spring a thousand branches." Hemâvati inquired, "How shall my dishonour be effaced, when I am without a husband?" "Fear not," replied Chandramâ, "your son will be born on the bank of the Karnavati river: then take him to Khajuraya, and offer him as a gift, and perform a sacrifice. In Mahoba he will reign, and will become a great king. He will possess the philosopher's stone, and will turn iron into gold. On the hill of Kalinjar he will build a fort; when your son is 16 years of age, you must perform a Bhánda Jag to wipe away your disgrace, and then leave Banâras to live at Kâlinjar."

According to this prophecy, Hemâvati's child, like another Chandramâ, was born on Monday the 11th of the waxing moon of Vaisakh on the bank of the Karnavati, the modern Kayán, or Kane river of the maps. Then Chandramâ, attended by all the gods, performed a great festival" (Mahotsava), when Vrihaspati wrote his horoscope, and the child was named Chandra Varmma. At 16 years of age he killed a tiger, when Chandramâ appeared to him and pre

In some of the manuscripts the name of the river is written. Kiyan, and Kiranavati. The former is no doubt the original of Arrian's Kainas, which has perhaps been altered from Kianas.

sented him with the philosopher's stone, and taught him polity (rajnit). Then he built the fort of Kâlinjar, after which he went to Kharjurpur, where he performed a sacrifice (Jag or Yajnya) to do away with his mother's shame, and built 85 temples. Then Chandrâvati Râni and all the other queens sat at the feet of Hemâvati, and her disgrace was wiped away. Lastly he went to Mahotsava, or Mahoba, the place of Chandramâ's "great festival," which he made his capital.

The date of this event is variously stated by the different authorities; but according to the genealogies furnished by the inscriptions, the most probable period for the establishment of the Chândel dynasty, and the foundation of Mahoba, is about A.D. 800.

32. MAHESWARAPURA.

From Jajhoti the Chinese pilgrim proceeded to the north for 900 li, or 150 miles, to Mo-hi-shi-fa-lopu-lo, or Maheswarapura, the king of which was likewise a Brahman. As a northern direction would conduct us to the neighbourhood of Kanoj, I conclude that there is probably a mistake in the bearing. I would, therefore, propose to read 900 li, or 150 miles, to the south, in which position stands the old town of Mandala, which was also called Maheshmatipura.* This was the original capital of the country on the Upper Narbada, which was afterwards supplanted by Tripuri, or Tewar, 6 miles from Jabalpur. The name is old, as the 'Mahawanso' mentions that the Thero Mahadeva was sent to Maheṣa-Mandala, in the time of Asoka, 240 B.C.† The products of the country are

* Sleeman, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1837, p. 622.
+ Turnour's Mahawanso,' p. 71.

said to have resembled those of Ujain, which is a sufficient proof that Maheswara could not have been anywhere to the north of Jajhoti, as the light-coloured soils about Gwalior and in the Gangetic Doâb are quite different from the black soil around Ujain. For these reasons, I am inclined to identify Maheshmatipura on the upper Narbada, with the Maheswarapura of Hwen Thsang. The kingdom was 3000 li, or 500 miles, in circuit. With these dimensions, its boundaries may be fixed approximately as extending from Dumoh and Leoni on the west, to the sources of the Narbada on the east.

33. UJAIN.

Hwen Thsang describes the capital of U-she-yen-na, or Ujjayini, as 30 li, or 5 miles, in circuit, which is only a little less than its size at the present day. The kingdom was 6000 li, or 1000 miles, in circuit. To the west it was bounded by the kingdom of Malwa, with its capital of Dhára-nagar, or Dhár, within 50 miles of Ujain. The territory of Ujain could not therefore have extended westward beyond the Chambal river, but to the north it must have been bounded by the kingdoms of Mathura and Jajhoti; to the east by Maheswarapura, and to the south by the Sâtpura mountains running between the Narbada and the Tapti. Within these limits, that is from Ranthambhâwar and Burhanpur on the west, to Dumoh and Seoni on the east, the circuit of the territory assigned to Ujain is about 900 miles.*

The kingdom of Ujain was under the rule of a Brahman Raja, like the two neighbouring states of

* Julien's Hiouen Thsang,' iii. 167. See Map No. I.

Jajhoti and Maheswarapura; but the king of Jajhoti was a Buddhist, while the other two kings were Brahmanists. To the west, the king of Malwa was a staunch Buddhist. But the Mo-la-po, or Malwa, of Hwen Thsang is limited to the western half of the ancient province, the eastern half forming the Brahmanical kingdom of Ujain. As the political divisions of the province thus correspond with its religious divisions, it may fairly be inferred that the rupture was caused by religious dissensions. And further, as the western or Buddhist half of the province still retained the ancient name of Malwa, I conclude that the Brahmanists were the seceders, and that the kingdom of Ujain was a recent Brahmanical offshoot from the old Buddhist kingdom of Malwa. Similarly, I believe that Maheswarapura must have been a Brahmanical offshoot from the great Buddhist kingdom of Kosala, or Berar, which will be described hereafter. In Ujain, there were several dozens of monasteries, but at the time of Hwen Thsang's visit, there were only three or four not in ruins, which gave shelter to about 300 monks. The temples of the gods were very numerous, and the king himself was well versed in the heretical books of the Brahmans.

34. MALWA.

The capital of Mo-la-po, or Malwa, is described by Hwen Thsang as situated to the south-east of the river Mo-ho, or Mahi, and at about 2000 li, or 333 miles, to north-west of Bharoch.* In this case both bearing and distance are erroneous, as Malwa lies to the north-east of Bhâroch, from which the source of

* Julien's Hiouen Thsang,' iii. 155.

the river Mahi is only 150 miles distant. I would therefore read 1000 li, or 167 miles, to the north-east, which corresponds almost exactly with the position of Dháranagara, or Dhár, one of the old capitals of Malwa. The present town of Dhâr is about three-quarters of a mile in length, by half a mile in breadth, or 24 miles in circumference; but as the citadel is outside the town, the whole circuit of the place cannot be less than 3 miles. The limits of the province are estimated at 6000 li, or 1000 miles. To the westward there were two dependencies of Malwa, named Khedá, with a circuit of 3000 li, or 500 miles, and Anandapura, with a circuit of 2000 li, or 333 miles, besides an independent state, named Vadari, with a circuit of 6000 li, or 1000 miles. All these have to be squeezed into the tract of country lying between Kachh and Ujain, on the west and east, Gurjara and Bairât on the north, and Balabhi and Mahârâshtra on the south, of which the extreme boundaries are not more than 1350 miles in circuit. It seems probable, therefore, that the dependencies must have been included by the pilgrim within the limits of the ruling state. I would accordingly assign to Malwa and its dependencies the southern half of the tract just mentioned, and to Vadari, the northern half. The limits of Malwa would thus be defined, by Vadari on the north, Balabhi on the west, Ujain on the east, and Maharashtra on the south. The circuit of this tract, extending from the mouth of the Banâs river, in the Ran of Kachh, to the Chambal, near Mandisor, and from the Sahyâdri mountains, between Dâmân and Mâligâm, to the Tapti river, below Burhânpur, is about 850 miles measured on the map, or nearly 1000 miles by road distance.