158 Report of the Archaeological Survey. [No. 3, 



distance to the north of the Upagupta monastery. The nearest 

 mounds are about half a mile to the north of the Katra, which will 

 make the whole distance 3J miles, if measured in a direct line by 

 the British road, which passes outside the city, but which will be fully 

 four miles if measured by the old road, which goes through the city. 

 Had the Chinese pilgrim given us the name of the monastery built 

 by Upagupta, we might perhaps have obtained some absolute proof of 

 its identity with the site of the Katra ; but I believe that the very 

 strong reasons which I have just before given are amply sufficient to 

 fix the site of the Upagupta monastery at the present Katra. 



167. There are a great number of lo^ty earthen mounds around 

 Mathura which are covered with fragments of stone and brick. No- 

 thing, however, is known about them, although every one of them has 

 a separate name. The numerous fragments of stone which ai-e found 

 upon them show that they are not old brick-kilns, as might have been 

 supposed from their vicinity to the city. Apparently, they are natural 

 mounds such as are found everywhere along the lower course of the 

 Jumna, and which have usually been taken advantage of for the sites 

 of forts or temples. Thus the old fort of Mathura is perched upon 

 a similar mound, and so also is the Jama Masjid in the middle of the 

 Katra Square. Most of the names of these mounds refer to the Brah- 

 manical divinities ; but there are two of them, such as the Anand 

 Tila and the Vinayak Tila, that are unmistakably Buddhist, and 

 which may possibly refer to the two Stupas of Ananda and Updli 

 (the Vinayaka, or teacher of Vinayd) as described by Hwen Thsang. 

 Both of these mounds are to the north of the city. To the south 

 there are seven mounds known as the Sat Tila, which are severally 

 named as follows : — 1, Dhu-ka-Tila ; 2, Sapt Rishi ; 3, Bal, or But, 

 Tila ; 4, Narad ; 5, Kans ; 6, Kal-jug ; 7, Ndgshesha. Now, it is 

 remarkable that the number of great Stupas of the disciples of Buddha 

 was also seven ; but unfortunately as nothing is recorded regarding 

 their relative positions, we are left entirely to conjecture whether these 

 seven mounds may possibly represent the seven famous Stupas of Bud- 

 dha's principal disciples. I think that it would be worth while to 

 make some excavations in all of these seven mounds to the south, as 

 well as in the two northern mounds which still bear Buddhistical 



