________________ Vaisali in Indian History and Culture tions show that Vaisali was then not merely the political, but the cultural and commercial Capital of the Province. It was at once a centre of Administration, Business and Industry. Seals were issued by three classes of its guilds, (Nigamas or Srenis), those of Bankers (Sresthin), Traders (Sarthavaha) and Artisans (Kulika). Each of these guilds had its President or Prathama. The Inscriptions tell us of Federations of Guilds, of Guilds of Sresthi-Kulika-Nigama, or of all the three guilds Sresthi-SarthavahaKulika-Nigama. These Seals also speak of the District Office of Vaisali as Vaisali-' adhisthana-adhikarana. These were the days of the famous Gupta Emperor Chandra Gupta II Vikramaditya (c. 376-414) who is rendered more famous by the record, left by the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien wbo visited India in 399-414 A. D., of what he saw of India's civilization. At this time what he then saw of Vaisali is of very great interest to us. He still saw here in existence the Mahavana Vihara, with its double tower or the Upper Storeyed-Hall, the Kutagara Hall, where Buddha used to stay. He also saw the ruins of the Vihara given by Amba pali at Amra-Vana. Can't we trace out what Fa-Hien had seen of Vaisali's ancient monuments ? Vaisali was seen in its decline and ruins by the other Chinese Pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang, when he visited it three centuries later. He noticed that Vaisali was "a fertile region abounding in mangoes, plantains, and other fruits" with its people honest, industrious, devoted to learning and to both Brahmanism and Buddhism. He saw hundreds of Buddhist Viharas dilapidated and deserted, a number of Brahmanical temples, and Digambaras flourishing. Hiuen-Tsang refers to the foundations of the old city extending to a great length and also the walled part of the city, together with a Buddhist Sammatiya monastery in the neighbourhood, and a stupa erected to the memory of Maudgalyayana. Near the stupa was the one in which were enshrined the relics of the Buddha of which a portion was seized by the Licchavis of Vaisali from the Mallas of Kusinara. Next, he noticed the Asoka pillar surmounted by the lion, and the Markatahrada near the Kutagarasala. The Pilgrim in faut tried to identify all the places associated with early Buddhism in the time of its founder. For instance, he traces the houses of Vimalakirti, Ratnakara and Amrapali, known in early Buddhist history. Bui it is difficult to trace the lost traditions of these ruins. He traced the Amravana and the Aramu given to the Buddha by Ambapali and the Buddhist shrine and Stupa marking the spot. HiuenTsang, in fact, tries to relate tradition to locality.
