SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST, &C. 349 



The immense ruins of Tacshaila, as it is spelt 

 also, cover a vast extent of ground, upon which a 

 town and several considerable villages have been 

 built ; but these ruins are now mere rubbish. The 

 Sydlas are exceedingly proud of their antiquity, 

 talk of ancient heroes, yet they remember nothing 

 of Alexander, and his conquests. They are a 

 fine race of men, tall, bold, and generous, like 

 their neighbours the Chatars, the Chateri of Dro- 

 DORUS, the Sicilian; the greatest part of the latter 

 are still Hindus, and I have seen several of them 

 at Benares: and their tribe is well known in Pen- 

 jdb. The Sydlas, and Chdtdrs are certainly a dis- 

 tinct race in that part of the country. The Sydlas^ 

 or Tacshas'ailas, or Silas a.e also called simply 

 TacsJtas as well as Sydlas. The Sydlas say, that 

 the ancient name of their city was Uda-ndgriy 

 and Hud that of their country, from one Hud- 

 Vallala, or the shepherd, called Yulluleah by 

 Persian authors, and Lilaios, by the Greeks*. 

 The country of Hud is called Hodu, in the book 

 o^ Esther, and seems to have included wliat is 

 called Sitid by Persian writers, at least the North- 

 ern parts of it. It is called Yud'dheya in the 

 Purdnas, and Ayud or Ayoud by European travellers 

 of the sixteenth century. 



Serai Ravaut, called Rubbaut by Major Ren- 

 NELL, is built upon the site ofTacshila, near Serais 

 Puckah. 



PtUTAECH defiumin. voce Indus, 



