Book Title: Jaina Gazette 1927
Author(s): J L Jaini, Ajitprasad
Publisher: Jaina Gazettee Office

Previous | Next

Page 398
________________ THE SITE OF KAUSAMBI 129 Hiuen Tsang whom Dr. Vincent A. Smith considers to be absolutely reliable. Suffice it to say that the distance of Kausambi, given by this pilgrim, from Prayaga (modern Allahabad) and Sravasti, whose sites are known with absolute certainty which appear to Dr. Vincent A. Smith to constitute the principal argument conform with the position neither of Kosam nor of Sutna. For while Sutna is situated to the south-west of Saheth-Maheth (ancient Srivasti) the distance between the two places is 500 li roughly 84 miles in excess of that mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim. On the other hand, the distance separating Kosam from Saheth-Maheth is approximately identical with the 1,000 li of Hiuen Tsang. But, though the pilgrim had to travel 500 li from Prayaga to reach Kausambi, the actual distance, in a straight line, of Kosam from Allahabad is not much more than 30 miles or 200 li. It is possible that Hiuen Tsang visited Kausambi in the rainy season, when the country around Kosam becomes literally impassable, and had thus to follow a very circuitous route. If, however, this was not the case, we must admit that the distance given by him is erroneous; and we need not be surprised at this, because, after all, Hiuen Tsang had come to India to pay his homage to the sacred places associated with the earthly career of the Blessed One, and not to prepare a geographical treatise on India. We do know that his statements regarding several other places about the correct location of which there can now be no manner of doubt, are far from correct. In the circumstances, the aid of inscriptions found on the spot becomes, in many cases, indispensable. Dr. Vincent A. Smith was aware of the existence of three inscriptions, viz., one of the year Samvat 1881, another of the reign of Akbar engraved on the Asoka Pillar standing in situ at Kosam, and a third one discovered at the ancient Fort of Kara near the Sirathu Railway Station in the district of Allahabad. The first document clearly refers to the locality as Kosambinagar. The inscription on the pillar registers some pious act by certain goldsmiths of Kausambi. But Dr. Saith held that the epigraph simply proved that the persons mentioned resided in that city, wherever it was situated. The inscription from Kara had not been correctly interShree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568