Xuanzang: the Chinese monk who saw Gandhara, Swat, Taxila and Sindh

When the ruins of Taxila were rediscovered in the nineteenth century, one of the main guides for archaeologists was a 1,200-year-old book: the travelogue of a Chinese monk who saw Peshawar, Swat, Taxila, Sindh and Multan with his own eyes in the seventh century. His name was Xuanzang. His journey became so famous that centuries later a popular Chinese novel, “Journey to the West”, was written on its basis. But the real Xuanzang was a diligent scholar, and his details are still used today to understand the ancient history of Pakistan.

Secret departure from Chang’an

Xuanzang was born in 602 (some sources say 603) in Henan province, China. He was troubled by the differences and gaps in the Chinese translations of Buddhist books. He wanted to bring the original Sanskrit texts from India. According to his English translator, Samuel Beal, the memory of Faxian, a traveller of two hundred years earlier, also inspired him to make the journey.

According to National Geographic, he began the journey in 629, and it lasted sixteen years. One account gives 627. Travel out of China was banned at the time, and according to Wikipedia he broke the ban. Beal says a guide betrayed him at the border and that he crossed a river at night, alone, to reach the guard posts. He then travelled through Turfan, Kucha and Tashkent to the border of India.

Gandhara and Peshawar: a fading civilisation

In Xuanzang’s book “Si-yu-ki” (Records of the Western World), the account of Gandhara begins as follows: the country is about 1,000 “li” from east to west and 800 li from north to south, and its eastern border is the Indus. The capital, “Po-lu-sha-pu-lo”, is Purushapura (Peshawar).

This was not the Gandhara that Faxian had seen two hundred years earlier. Xuanzang writes that the royal line has ended and the country is run by deputies of Kapisa. Towns and villages are deserted and the population is small. The land, however, was fertile. Grain, flowers, fruit and sugarcane grew in abundance, and “solidified sugar” was made from the cane juice. He writes that nearly a thousand monasteries there lay in ruins, overgrown with brush. He also wrote that the land produced great authors such as Asanga and Vasubandhu.

According to World History Encyclopedia, Xuanzang gave the first detailed geographical account of Gandhara, and with its help the remains of the area were identified in modern times as Gandhara’s heritage.

Panini’s town on the Indus

In Gandhara, Xuanzang passed through the city of Udakhanda, whose southern side met the Indus. According to Beal’s note, this is the site of Ohind, that is, Hund. To its north-west lay the town of Salatura, which Xuanzang describes as the birthplace of the famous Sanskrit grammarian Panini. He recorded that Panini collected the rules of the language and wrote a book of a thousand verses. The king announced that anyone who memorised it from beginning to end would receive a thousand gold coins. According to Beal, Cunningham identified Salatura with the village of Lahor, four miles north-west of Hund.

Swat and Taxila

Reading the account of Udyana, that is Swat, even a reader today recognises the valley. Xuanzang writes that mountains and valleys are joined together, grapes are plentiful, the land yields gold and iron, forests are dense and shady, flowers and fruits are countless, and the cold and heat are moderate.

But here too times had changed. There were 1,400 old monasteries on both banks of the Swat river, most of them deserted. In Xuanzang’s words, 18,000 monks once lived in them, but very few remained. Beal points out in a note that in Faxian’s time the same monasteries were inhabited, which means a great decline came sometime between 400 and 630.

Taxila, which Xuanzang calls “Ta-cha-shi-lo”, was in a similar state. The royal line had ended and nobles fought each other for power. The country had earlier been subject to Kapisa and now paid tribute to Kashmir. The land was fertile and springs were many, but the monasteries were falling into ruins and the monks were few. According to World History Encyclopedia, this decline of Taxila’s monasteries is preserved in Xuanzang’s writing. National Geographic writes that Cunningham took help from Xuanzang’s writings to fix the location of the ruins of Taxila.

Nalanda, then Sindh and Multan

From Taxila, Xuanzang went to Kashmir and then, via the Gangetic plains, reached Nalanda, the greatest centre of Buddhist learning of the time. According to Wikipedia, he studied Sanskrit and Buddhist philosophy there under the teacher Silabhadra.

On his long journey he also came to Sindh. According to him, the country of Sindh was 7,000 li in circumference. Wheat and millet grew well, and oxen, sheep, camels and mules were raised. The camels were small and had one hump. He made special mention of Sindh’s salt: red salt like cinnabar, white salt, black salt and rock salt, which was used as medicine far and wide. According to him, there were several hundred monasteries and about 10,000 monks, and the king respected the Buddhist faith.

Crossing the river eastwards from Sindh, he reached “Mulasthanapura”, which Beal identifies as Multan. According to him, it was a densely populated and prosperous city, and the people were simple and honest. There were about ten Buddhist monasteries, mostly deserted, while a splendid temple of the Sun god was the city’s landmark.

Return and the treasure of books

On his return, Xuanzang crossed the Indus once again near Hund. According to Beal, some of his books and flowers were lost while crossing the river, and he himself narrowly escaped drowning. According to Wikipedia, he returned to Chang’an in the first month of 645 by way of the Khyber Pass, Kashgar and Khotan. Beal writes that he brought with him Buddha images, relics and 520 bundles of books, loaded on twenty-two horses. Wikipedia gives the number of texts as 657.

Emperor Taizong received him, and at his request Xuanzang completed his travelogue in 646. He spent the rest of his life translating and died in 664. Today everyone who visits the ruins of Swat or Taxila sees the scene, in some way, through the eyes of this Chinese traveller.

Next instalment: Sulaiman the merchant: the sea route from the Gulf to China.