________________
16
TRIBES IN ANCIENT INDIA
fled, terrified, to his own kingdom. But we find the situation reversed in the Palāyi Jātaka: Brahmadatta, King of Benares, leads an army to Takşaśīlā, but is so struck by the splendour of the city gate, which he mistakes for a palace, that he does not dare to make an attack on so mighty a king (the king being pictured as the Bodhisattva), and returns baffled to his own country.2
Takşaśīlā was a great seat of learning in Ancient India. Various arts and sciences were taught there, and pupils from different parts of India would flock to the city for instruction. Here also magic charms 4 and spells for understanding the cries of animals 5 were taught. According to Jātaka (IV, 391), only Brahmans and Ksatriyas were admitted to the university. The details of Taxila's importance as a seat of learning have been given by me elsewhere,6 and a brief notice is all that is necessary here.
As regards the authentic political history of Gandhāra itself, as distinct from that of its capitals, we find that in the Buddha's time Pukkusāti, King of Gandhāra, is said to have sent an embassy and a letter to King Bimbisāra (Skt. Bindúsāra) of Magadha. Prof. Rapson states 8 that Gandhāra was in all probability conquered by Cyrus (558-530 B.C.), and remained a Persian province for about two centuries. After the downfall of the Persian empire in 331 B.C., it came under the sway of Alexander the Great, together with the Persian province of 'India' or 'the country of the Indus'. Through Gandhāra and the 'Indian' province was exercised the Persian influence which so greatly modified the civilisation of N.W. India. Later, as we have seen, Gandhāra was feudatory to Asoka, but it declared its independence shortly after his death, only to fall very soon under the sway of the Greek kings. According to Whitehead,10 it was Euthydemos (circa. 230-195 B.C.) who conquered Gandhāra R. D. Banerjee, however, presumes 11 that the conqueror was Diyadāta (Diodotos) II, as some gold coins of his reign have been discovered by Sir John Marshall in the ruins of Taxila. Whitehead's supposition is the more probable, if we are to assume that Gandhāra was subject to the Maurya Empire until
1 Jataka (Fausböll), Vol. II, pp. 2I9–2I. 2 Ibid., pp. 217-8. 3 See, e.g. Psalms of the Brethren, p. 136. 4 Jặtaka, II, No. I85, p. 100. 5 Ibid., III, No. 416, p. 415. 6 See B. C. Law, Historical Gleanings, Chap. I, pp. 1-8. 7 Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, p. 28. 8 Rapson, Ancient India, pp. 81-82. IR. D. Banerjee, Vāngālār Itihāsa, pp. 31-2. 10 Catalogue of Coins in the Punjab Museum, Lahore, Vol. I, p. 4. 11 Prācina Mudrā, p. 27.
